MOBILE PHONE USAGE – CANCER RISK? Source – ‘ The Week ‘ The link between mobile phone usage and cancer risk is back in the news with a small Israeli study suggesting that the clues may be in the human saliva, since mobile phones are held close to the salivary gland. The researchers compared the saliva of 20 volunteers who had been using a mobile phone for an average of 12.5 years and for a minimum of 8 hours a month ( the average was 30-40 hours a month) with a control group of deaf people. Mobile phone users had higher oxidative stress in their saliva. Oxidative stress is linked to cell and gene mutations through the development of toxic peroxide and free radicals and can cause tumors. Increasing use of mobile phones creates growing concerns regarding harmful effects of radio frequency nonionising electromagnetic radiation on human tissues located close to the ear where phones are commonly held for long periods of time, the study noted. These findings were published in the journal ‘Antioxidants and Redox signaling’.