Repacholi MH, Basten A, et al.

These authors used mice prone to the development of lymphomas and exposed them to RF radiation typical of mobile phone systems. One hundred and one mice were exposed for two 30- minute periods per day for up to 18 months to 900 MHz with a pulse repetition frequency of 217 Hz and a pulse width of 0.6ms. The authors reported a SAR range from 0.007 to 4.3 W/kg. One hundred mice who were sham-exposed served as controls. They found that the number of tumours in animals was almost double that in unexposed mice (43 vs 22). The risk of the exposed animals developing a tumour was 2.4 times that of the controls.

It is difficult to extrapolate these findings from lymphoma-prone mice to human beings or even to non-transgenic mice. The exposure of the mice to RF fields was very different from that which occurs in users of cellular telephones. One of the main problems in this study was that the RF field was not uniform in the exposure chambers. The RF energy absorbed by the mice during their exposure covered a wide range. The study has not yet been replicated. The authors interpreted the results with caution stating,

"While the increase in the incidence of lymphoma found here was significant statistically, and the exposure conditions were designed to mimic the fields generated by a digital mobile telephone, the implications of the study for risk of carcinogenesis in humans are unclear."