Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHZ electromagnetic fields

Radiat Res. 1997 May;147(5):631-40.

Abstract

Whether radiofrequency (RF) fields are carcinogenic is controversial; epidemiological data have been inconclusive and animal tests limited. The aim of the present study was to determine whether long-term exposure to pulse-modulated RF fields similar to those used in digital mobile telecommunications would increase the incidence of lymphoma in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice, which are moderately predisposed to develop lymphoma spontaneously. One hundred female E mu-Pim1 mice were sham-exposed and 101 were exposed for two 30-min periods per day for up to 18 months to plane-wave fields of 900 MHz with a pulse repetition frequency of 217 Hz and a pulse width of 0.6 ms. Incident power densities were 2.6-13 W/m2 and specific absorption rates were 0.008-4.2 W/kg, averaging 0.13-1.4 W/kg. Lymphoma risk was found to be significantly higher in the exposed mice than in the controls (OR = 2.4. P = 0.006, 95% CI = 1.3-4.5). Follicular lymphomas were the major contributor to the increased tumor incidence. Thus long-term intermittent exposure to RF fields can enhance the probability that mice carrying a lymphomagenic oncogene will develop lymphomas. We suggest that such genetically cancer-prone mice provide an experimental system for more detailed assessment of dose-response relationships for risk of cancer after RF-field exposure.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Weight
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Female
  • Kidney Diseases / etiology
  • Kidney Diseases / pathology
  • Lymphoma / etiology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / etiology*
  • Oncogenes
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1

Substances

  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Pim1 protein, mouse
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1