# REV-035 — A critical review of the WHO-commissioned evidence syntheses

Collection: Reviews & proposed mechanisms (not an original experiment)

Id: REV-035

Heading: A critical review of the WHO-commissioned evidence syntheses

Doi: 10.1186/s12940-025-01220-4

Title: The WHO-commissioned systematic reviews on health effects of radiofrequency radiation provide no assurance of safety

Authors: Ronald L Melnick; Joel M Moskowitz; Paul Héroux; Erica Mallery-Blythe; Julie E McCredden; Martha Herbert; Lennart Hardell; Alasdair Philips; Fiorella Belpoggi; John W Frank; Theodora Scarato; Elizabeth Kelley; International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF)

Author: Melnick et al.

Date: 2025-10-02

Kind: Critical review

Why: How studies are grouped or excluded can change what a review makes visible, so methods themselves deserve scrutiny.

Scope: Examines twelve WHO-commissioned RF systematic reviews and their meta-analyses across cancer and non-cancer outcomes.

Summary: Melnick and colleagues argue that subgrouping, exclusions, heterogeneity and weaknesses in underlying studies limit claims of safety. They highlight animal-cancer and reproductive findings they consider important for exposure protection.

Limitations: A methodological critique and policy interpretation, not twelve new datasets or an independent meta-analysis. Its criticisms need to be read alongside the original reviews and corrections; the 2026 animal-cancer corrigendum postdates this article.

Topics: Review methods; Cancer; Reproduction; Exposure standards

Exposures: Radiofrequency

Journal: Environmental health : a global access science source

Links: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01220-4; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41034851/; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12490090/

Access Label: Abstract checked

Source Check: Primary PubMed/Europe PMC metadata and abstract checked; full article not assessed. Linked notice records checked on 21 October 2026.

Citation: Ronald L Melnick; Joel M Moskowitz; Paul Héroux; Erica Mallery-Blythe; Julie E McCredden; Martha Herbert; Lennart Hardell; Alasdair Philips; Fiorella Belpoggi; John W Frank; Theodora Scarato; Elizabeth Kelley; International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF). The WHO-commissioned systematic reviews on health effects of radiofrequency radiation provide no assurance of safety. Environmental health : a global access science source. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12940-025-01220-4.

Related Studies: RF-001; RF-002; RF-014; RF-006; RF-022

Url: /reviews/rev-035/

Year: 2025

Record Type: review_or_mechanism

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01220-4