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There are few epidemiologic studies dealing with electromagnetic
radiation and uveal melanoma. The
majority of these studies are exploratory and are based on job and
industry titles only. We conducted a hospital-based and population-based
case-control study of uveal melanoma and occupational exposures to
different sources of electromagnetic radiation, including radiofrequency
radiation. We then pooled these results. We interviewed a total of 118
female and male cases with uveal melanoma and 475 controls matching on
sex, age, and study regions. Exposure to radiofrequency-transmitting
devices was rated as
(a) no radiofrequency radiation exposure,
(b) possible exposure to mobile phones, or
(c) probable/certain exposure to mobile phones.
Exposures were rated independently by two of the authors who did not
know
case or control status. We used conditional logistic regression to
calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We
found an elevated risk for exposure to radiofrequency-transmitting
devices (exposure to radio sets, OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4-6.3; probable/certain
exposure to mobile phones, OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 1.2-14.5). Other sources
of electromagnetic radiation such as high-voltage lines, electrical
machines, complex electrical environments, visual display terminals, or
radar units were not associated with uveal melanoma.
This is the first study describing an association between
radiofrequency radiation exposure and uveal melanoma.
Several methodologic limitations prevent our results from providing
clear evidence on the hypothesized association.
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