According to The Associated Press, Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, has advised his colleagues to cut down on the time they spend using their mobile phones.

The reason for this unusual piece of advice consists in the possibility of a cellphone-cancer connection. Although there aren’t any solid studies to confirm this yet, the doctor feels that people should be more careful, especially with children.

A while back, three brain surgeons tackled the issue while invited at The Larry King Show. They went through the results of several observational studies, according to which a causal relationship between mobile phone use and cancer could be established, but rather an association of the two. The biggest such study has been conducted in 13 countries.

Some of the data points to a connection betweeen mobile phone use and three different types of tumors: glioma, parotid cancer and acoustic neuroma. The three are quite rare, therefore one could conclude that even if cellphones do contribute to cancer formation, the situation is not at all alarming. 

Dr. Ronald Herberman’s warning is primarily oriented towards children. According to him, they should only use cellphones in cases of emergency, because their brains are still developing. Addressing both children and adults, he said mobile phones should be kept at a fair distance from the head and that wireless headsets should be used.

This year, the University of Utah has presented the results of a study in which thousands of brain tumours had been analyzed; no increased risk was found as a consequence of heavy mobile phone use. However, in the end, researchers added that long-term use effects "await confirmation by future studies."