# WHO-commissioned systematic review of RF exposure and cancer in humans (2024)

> A systematic review and meta-analysis of human observational studies found no association between mobile phone use and brain or head-and-neck cancers, including for long-term and heavy use.

- Canonical URL: https://emfbase.com/studies/who-rf-cancer-review-2024
- Collection: Research record
- Record id: `studies:who-rf-review-2024`
- Status: verified
- Last verified: 2026-08-12
- JSON: https://emfbase.com/api/studies/who-rf-cancer-review-2024

## Key values

- **Authors:** Karipidis K, Baaken D, Loney T, et al.
- **Year:** 2024
- **Design:** systematic review
- **Exposure studied:** Mobile phone use, cordless phone use, and occupational and environmental RF exposure
- **Place in the evidence base:** high
- **Primary document:** https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024005531

## Finding

No association between mobile phone use and glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, or pituitary and salivary gland tumours, including among people reporting ten or more years of use and the highest cumulative call time. Certainty of evidence was rated moderate to low depending on outcome.

## What it cannot establish

Underlying studies rely largely on self-reported exposure and predate widespread 5G deployment. Absence of an observed association at population level does not exclude a small effect in a subgroup, and the review addresses cancer only, not other endpoints.

## Related records

- [IARC classification of radiofrequency fields as Group 2B (2011)](https://emfbase.com/studies/iarc-2011-rf-group-2b): IARC classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) based on limited evidence for glioma and acoustic neuroma from heavy mobile phone use.
- [INTERPHONE international case–control study (2010)](https://emfbase.com/studies/interphone-2010): The largest case–control study of mobile phone use and brain tumours found no overall increase in glioma or meningioma, with a raised glioma odds ratio confined to the highest decile of reported call time.

## Sources

- `who-rf-review-2024` Environment International (WHO-commissioned systematic review) (2024). *The effect of exposure to radiofrequency fields on cancer risk in the general and working population: a systematic review of human observational studies*. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024005531 — peer-reviewed, link checked 2026-08-12
- `who-emf-rf` World Health Organization. *Radiation: Electromagnetic fields (questions and answers)*. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-electromagnetic-fields — government, link checked 2026-08-12

Data licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Dataset version 2026.08.1. Retrieved from EMFBase, https://emfbase.com.

This record is reference data, not medical or legal advice. Regulatory limits, scientific guidelines and precautionary values are labelled separately and answer different questions.