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To this day, cancer continues to be associated with cellphone due to its radiation and yet a new study has come out in the open. The latest study comes from the National Institutes of Health which found a slight increase in brain tumors among men.

The sudden re-introduction of cellphone use as a channel of contracting cancer has however raised varying reactions. Some have criticized the study for its specimen use (which is rats) while some question the manner to which it was carried out.

The only thing that is perhaps worth noting from the study that was carried out is that cellphone usage can render cancer though not at the rate that would make it a concern.

As far as the study is concerned, researchers exposed rats to cellphone radiation from the womb through their first two years of life for about nine hours a day. 2 to 3% of tumors were found in male rats which were considered low. Strangely, female rats were not affected but surprisingly died faster than their male counterparts.

It should be noted that the study was preliminary, meaning more work on backing how cancer can be contracted from cellphone use need to be done. But this early, critics have taken their shots on the study which seemingly shows no difference from previous ones made tying up cancer and cellphone use.

"If cellphones cause cancer, they don't cause a lot of cancer," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the American Cancer Society's chief medical officer. "It's not as carcinogenic as beef."

He also adds that rather than focus on how cellphone radiation could cause cancer, focusing more on the distractions it carries would be better.

The study somehow supersedes a study which dates back as far as 1986 though cancer deaths associated with mobile phones have not increased nor decreased. This suggests that whatever effect mobile phones have may be too small and undetectable compared to regular cases of brain cancer.

Aside from brain tumors, the study also showed some slight increases of a very rare type of heart tumor in male rats. Results of these findings are scheduled to be released next year.

Being a preliminary study, critics believe that there a lot of factors that may have overlooked. This includes the length of exposure that rats had to cellphone radiation, the interpretation of data and believing that the research was underpowered.

“This is a high profile topic that hits close to home for most of us," said George Gray, a risk and environmental health expert from George Washington University. "It is really important to realize that a single study like this does not provide 'the answer.'"