The International Journal of Oncology has released a report on cell phone risks, concluding that mobile devices cause cancer and brain tumors.

While there have been studies in the past that seem to show mobile devices are relatively safe, the International Journal of Oncology makes the case that radiation-induced cancer can often take decades to show up, calling into question the results of earlier studies.

Occupational studies and studies of atomic bomb survivors indicate that the latency for brain cancer could be as long as three decades or more. The first reports on case-control studies published on this association in the 1990s lacked sufficient power to find an effect, because they studied persons who had used early technology (1 and 2G) phones for relatively limited periods of time.

The most recent study, the French national study CERENAT, provides more data on the subject since it involves subjects who already had years of mobile phone use. What’s more, the study was conducted at a time when mobile phone saturation was much higher than during previous studies, an important point since the risk increases as a person is exposed to more wireless transmitting devices (WTDs).

The conclusions of the study were sobering for the wireless industry and its customers, with the journal recommending that mobile phones be re-classified as a Group 2A (probable) carcinogen.

In the CERENAT study, a significant increased risk of brain cancer was found from mobile phone use overall with an 8-fold increased risk for higher urban exposures. Three out of every four persons today live in mega-cities with populations of >10 million, many in the rapidly developing world where exposures to RF-EMF may be poorly controlled and access to medical treatment problematic. CERENAT also corroborates those few studies that have shown a risk of meningioma from mobile phone use.

Those interested in more information should read the entire report here.