Cancer risk assessment of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields: a critical review of methodology.

Abstract

This review provides a discussion of cancer risk assessment methodology pertinent to developing a strategy for extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields (EMF). Approaches taken for chemical agents or ionizing radiation in six key topic areas are briefly reviewed, and then those areas are examined from the perspective of EMF, identifying issues to be addressed in developing a risk assessment strategy. The following recommendations are offered: 1) risk assessment should be viewed as an iterative process that informs an overall judgment as to health risk and consists of a complex of related activities incorporating both positive and negative data, tumor and nontumor end points, and human and nonhuman sources of information; 2) a hazard identification resulting in a conclusion of weak or null effects, such as may be associated with EMF, will need to assign significant weight to animal cancer bioassays conducted under defined exposure conditions as well as to human epidemiologic studies; 3) a default factor to account for possible age differences in sensitivity to carcinogenesis should be included in an EMF risk assessment; 4) lack of evidence of dose response and the apparent lack of DNA reactivity of EMF suggest that a safety (or uncertainty) factor or margin of exposure type of risk characterization may be most appropriate; and 5) an EMF risk assessment should permit at least tentative conclusions to be reached as to the limits of carcinogenic risk from exposure to EMF, and should also define an efficient research agenda aimed at clarifying uncertainties appropriate to a more complete assessment.

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF‐EMFs) induce in vitro angiogenesis process in human endothelial cells

“…However, this controversy could be explained by the different systems used in several studies, as well as by the various responses of different cell lines to similar electromagnetic stimuli. Moreover, the level of the field intensity used in these studies caused neither non-specific cytotoxicity nor morphology changes [McCann, 1998;Simkó and Mattsson, 2004]. On the other hand, the efficacy of therapeutic potential of EMFs has already been demonstrated, for example, in non-union bone fracture healing or in osteoarthritis treatments, confirming that under certain conditions EMFs can positively influence physiological processes in organisms [Ryaby, 1998;Mert et al, 2006].…”

Effects of static magnetic fields on the development and aging ofCaenorhabditis elegans

“…SMFs were able to induce double-stranded DNA breaks in rat brain cells (Lai and Singh, 2004). SMFs are also associated with an increased risk of cancer (McCann, 1998). It is likely that SMFs also affect longevity.…”

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) and brain cancer in adults and children: Review and comment

“…Epidemiologic eld studies of EMF and cancer have thus been predicated on the assumption that magnetic elds pose the potential danger (Miller et al, 1997). One of the most important issues that continues to hamper the appropriate design of epidemiologic studies of EMF and cancer, however, is the lack of an identi ed biological mechanism for EMF carcinogenesis that can be translated into a relevant exposure assessment system (McCann, 1998;Patterson, 1992). Indeed, the plausibility of a causal role has been questioned by many because the energy levels of typical 50-and 60-Hz magnetic elds are so low that the internal currents they induce are many orders of magnitude smaller than the currents required to produce nerve and muscle stimulation or other endogenous biochemical processes (Portier and Wolfe, 1998), let alone cause direct mutagenic effects.…”