# RF-024 — Lymphoma in genetically susceptible mice

Why this matters
These mice were genetically prone to lymphoma, a cancer of immune cells. The reported increase makes inherited susceptibility a serious question, but later experiments did not reproduce it under their different protocols. That history limits what this model can tell us about who might be especially vulnerable.

Id: RF-024

Author: Repacholi et al.

Full Authors: Repacholi MH; Basten A; Gebski V; Noonan D; Finnie J; Harris AW

Year: 1997

Title: Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHz electromagnetic fields

Journal: Radiation Research

Citation: Repacholi MH, Basten A, Gebski V, Noonan D, Finnie J, Harris AW. Lymphomas in Eμ-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHz electromagnetic fields. Radiation Research. 1997;147(5):631-640. doi:10.2307/3579630.

Doi: 10.2307/3579630

Pmid: 9146709

Topic: Tumours

Verification Group: Original abstract verified

Record Role: Original abstract verified

Featured: False

Exposure: 900 MHz plane-wave fields, 217 Hz pulse repetition, 0.6 ms pulse width; two 30-minute periods/day for up to 18 months. Incident power density 2.6-13 W/m²; SAR 0.008-4.2 W/kg, averaging 0.13-1.4 W/kg. Freely moving animals. Seven days/week is reported in IARC Table 3.1; original abstract does not give weekly frequency.

Design: 101 exposed and 100 sham-exposed female Eμ-Pim1 transgenic mice predisposed to spontaneous lymphoma. Sham exposure; original full methods/pathology tables not obtained during this check.

Finding: Original abstract reports lymphoma odds ratio 2.4 (95% CI 1.3-4.5), p=.006; follicular lymphomas made the main contribution. IARC Table 3.1 extracts all-lymphoma counts as 43/101 exposed vs 22/100 sham. Counts are a government-assessment extraction, not a newly checked original table.

Boundary: Genetically predisposed strain; wide individual SAR range. IARC notes no standardized necropsy-selection criteria and that clinically surviving 18-month animals were discarded without necropsy; survival data were not reported. Oberto 2007 and Utteridge 2002 did not reproduce the lymphoma finding under modified dosimetry/restraint protocols. Not an established independently replicated susceptibility effect.

Related: Original Adelaide/Australian lymphoma-prone mouse experiment. Utteridge 2002 and Oberto 2007 are later attempts at replication, not additional affirmative cohorts; keep their protocol differences explicit.

Protection Question: Is the lymphoma finding a reproducible feature of this genetically susceptible model? Nonconfirming attempted replications limit both the original inference and any general claim about inherited human vulnerability.

Access: Original-abstract content available in literature records and government abstract compilation; full citation/DOI independently confirmed by publisher JSTOR issue and coauthor UNSW publication record. IARC original assessment Table 3.1 and narrative reviewed for counts/limitations. Full original journal article not retrieved; retain abstract-level verification.

Locator: Original abstract, Radiation Research 147(5):631; IARC Monographs volume 102, section 3.1.3(a) and Table 3.1 (page numbering differs between chapter versions).

Notice: Targeted DOI/title notice search 2026-10-20 found no formal correction/retraction/concern. Replication criticism is not an editorial retraction. Full publisher notice-history audit incomplete.

Funding: Original funding/conflict statement not verified. A BfS-hosted 2008 Australian research presentation attributes funding to Telstra Research Laboratories; do not substitute that secondary attribution for original disclosure.

Conflicts: Not established from retrieved material.

Source Url: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9146709/

Retrieval Links: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9146709/ | https://doi.org/10.2307/3579630 | https://www.jstor.org/stable/i283918 | https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/conjoint-professor-antony-basten/publications?page=1&type=journalarticles | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304627/?report=reader | https://publications.iarc.fr/_publications/media/download/5668/0cb58bad9a09e20acc79b1a4b0596b5faffd5247.pdf

Verification Date: 2026-10-20