使用手机不增加患脑癌的风险
The largest-ever international study of mobile phone safety has concluded the devices do not raise the risk of brain cancer – except possibly a slight increase in tumours among the most intensive users.一项历史上规模最大的手机安全国际研究得出结论，手机不会增加人们罹患脑癌的风险，只是可能会轻微增加使用量最大的用户得肿瘤的几率。
The telecoms industry, which contributed $6m to the $24m Interphone study through an “arm's length” funding mechanism, said the findings, published yesterday, supported its view that mobile phones were safe. But the industry said it was prepared to support more research.
通过一个“保持距离”的融资机制，电信业为总额2400万美元的Interphone研究资助了600万美元。该行业表示，昨天公布的研究结果支持了他们的观点，即手机是安全的。但他们也表示，他们准备支持更多的此类研究。
Critics said the study used flawed methodology that concealed a more worrying increase in glioma, the most deadly brain tumour, in the heaviest mobile users – those who have used mobile phones for more than 1,640 hours. WiredChild, a UK pressure group, said the implications for children – not included in the Interphone study – were serious.
批评者说，这项研究采用了有缺陷的方法，隐瞒了一个更令人担忧的现象：手机使用量最大（已使用超过1640小时）的用户患最致命的一种脑肿瘤——神经胶质瘤——的可能性增加。英国压力集团WiredChild则表示，手机对儿童的影响也很大，但没有包括在Interphone研究中。
Scientists in 13 countries carried out the study under the auspices of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organisation. They interviewed 5,100 brain cancer patients and a similar number of matched “controls”, who did not have cancer, about their mobile phone use.
在世界卫生组织旗下国际癌症研究署的主持下，来自13个国家的科学家进行了这项研究。他们采访了5100名脑癌患者和数量相似、没有患上癌症的相应“对照人群”，了解他们的手机使用情况。
Although data collection ended in 2004, publication of the study was delayed while the researchers argued about how best to present their results. It eventually appeared yesterday in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
尽管数据收集在2004年便已结束，研究报告却一再推迟发表，因为研究人员对于如何最好地展示研究结果争执不下。昨天，该研究报告终于现身《国际流行病学杂志》。
A particular issue was the finding that regular mobile users had less brain cancer than non-users matched for sex, age and social background – though there is no biologically plausible way phones could actually protect against tumours.
研究的一个特别发现是，与性别、年龄和社会背景相对应的非手机用户相比，经常使用手机的用户患脑癌的比例较低，但并不存在看似合理的生物学原理显示手机可以防范脑瘤。
When the results are adjusted to correct for this apparent flaw in the study method, there is a larger increase in cancer risk among the most intense mobile users.
在对结果进行调整，以纠正研究方法中的这种明显缺陷后发现，使用量最大的用户罹患癌症的风险大幅提高。
“An increased risk of brain cancer is not established from the data from Interphone,” said Dr Christopher Wild, IARC director, summing up the study. “However, observations at the highest level of cumulative call time and changing patterns of mobile phone use since the period studied by Interphone, particularly in young people, mean that further investigation of mobile phone use and brain cancer risk is merited.”
“患脑癌风险增加的结论并非来自于Interphone研究的数据，”IARC署长克里斯托弗·威尔德博士总结称。“不过，自Interphone研究期间以来对累计通话最高时长和不同手机使用方式的观察（特别是对年轻人的观察）表明，对手机使用和脑癌风险之间的关系做进一步调查是值得的。”
The leaders of the study in the UK, Professors Anthony Swerdlow of the Institute of Cancer Research and Patricia McKinney of Leeds University, were more dismissive of any apparent causal link between mobile phone use and brain cancer.
但对于手机使用和脑癌之间是否存在明显的因果联系，该研究的英国负责人——癌症研究院的安东尼·斯维尔德洛和利兹大学的帕特里西亚·麦克金利——则较为不以为然。
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