Ramazzini Institute far-field base-station exposure study (2018)
A lifespan rat study at far-field, base-station-like levels reported the same rare heart schwannoma signal as the NTP study, at much lower exposure intensities.
Last verified 12 August 2026.
- Authors
- Falcioni L, Bua L, Tibaldi E, et al. (Ramazzini Institute)
- Year
- 2018
- Design
- animal
- Exposure studied
- Far-field 1.8 GHz GSM at whole-body SAR of 0.001–0.1 W/kg, 19 hours per day from prenatal life to natural death
- Place in the evidence base
- moderate
- Primary document
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29530389/
Finding
A statistically significant increase in heart schwannomas in male rats at the highest dose, concordant in tumour type with the NTP findings despite far lower exposure.
What it cannot establish
Effect was confined to male rats at the highest of three levels, with small numbers of affected animals. Historical-control comparisons and statistical approach have been contested. Concordance with NTP strengthens the signal but neither study establishes a human risk.
Related records
- NTP rodent carcinogenicity studies of cell phone radiofrequency radiation (2018)
Two-year whole-body exposure studies found clear evidence of malignant schwannomas of the heart in male rats at exposure levels above the human whole-body limit, with no such finding in female rats or in mice.
Research record
Sources
- ramazzini-2018 Report of final results regarding brain and heart tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats exposed from prenatal life until natural death to mobile phone radiofrequency field representative of a 1.8 GHz GSM base station environmental emission — Environmental Research (Ramazzini Institute), 2018. peer-reviewed, link checked 2026-08-12.
Same record, other formats