Four laboratories in Europe from 2001 to 2006 conducted a series of six animal studies investigating whether mobile phone (GSM) signals at 900 MHz or 1800 MHz are carcinogenic or co-carcinogenic in rats and mice.  Funding was received under the EU 5th Framework Program with sponsorship from the MMF, the GSMA, Elettra2000 and national authorities from Switzerland and Austria. The program was coordinated by the University of Helsinki, which provided a firewall between the sponsors and researchers.  Collectively, these six studies are known as PERFORM-A, an acronym of the European project “In vivo research on possible health effects related to mobile telephones and base stations (carcinogenicity studies in rodents)”. In addition, a seventh animal cancer study conducted in China is also described here.   

Study Objectives

The objective of these seven studies is to provide high quality and reliable data for risk assessments by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In particular, these studies address the WHO research agenda recommendations for long term animal bioassays for cancer induction/promotion as well as follow-up studies of previously reported findings, most notably the 1997 Repacholi et al. study [1] which reported an increase of leukaemia in mice exposed to 900 MHz signals, though another study has since failed to confirm this result [2].

Animal study design

All five of the animal laboratories were certified to be in compliance with principles of Good Laboratory Practice. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) type chronic two-year bioassay performed in mice and rats of both sexes has been regarded as a “gold standard” test for cancer risk assessment for the last 30 years. The follow-up  studies tested both reported associations [1] and inconsistent [3] findings of cancer in animals exposed to mobile telephony signals. The outcomes of these studies are have now been published.

Radiofrequency (RF) exposure characteristics

Exposure system support has been provided by ITIS (Switzerland) and the Radio Communications Laboratory (RCL) at the Aristotle University of Thessalonika (Greece). The following general principles applied for the RF exposures:

• Similar exposure levels for rats and mice were applied in all of the studies to facilitate comparisons.
• A range of exposure levels was employed to allow for a dose response if any effects were observed, as per standard NTP bioassay practice.
• The exposure levels included levels relevant to community exposures from mobile phones and base station emissions.
• Body temperature of the animals was maintained within normal physiological limits during exposure to avoid confounding from RF thermal heating effects.
• The RF exposure range in the follow-up studies included levels used in the original studies [1, 3].

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References

[1]     Repacholi MH, Basten A, Gebski V, Noonan D, Finnie J, Harris AW. Lymphomas in Eμ-Pim1 Transgenic Mice Exposed to Pulsed 900 MHz Electromagnetic Fields. Radiation Research 147:631-40, 1997.

[2]     Utteridge TD, Gebski V, Finnie JW, Vernon-Roberts B, Kuchel TR. Long-Term Exposure of Eμ-Pim1 Transgenic Mice to 898.4 MHz Microwaves Does Not Increase Lymphoma Incidence. Radiation Research 158:357-364, 2002.

[3]     Anane R, Dulou P-E, Taxile M, Geffard M, Crespeau F, Veyret B. Effects of GSM-900 Microwaves on DMBA-Induced Mammary Gland Tumors in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats. Radiation. Research 160: 492 —497, 2003.