# RF-025 — Genetic profiling of rat gliomas and cardiac schwannomas from life-time radiofrequency radiation exposure study using a targeted next-generation sequencing gene panel

Why this matters
Looking inside rat tumours can help researchers ask how closely the disease resembles human cancer. This paper examines tissues from the Ramazzini animals, so it adds biological detail rather than a new cancer experiment. Its corrected findings do not show that RF caused the mutations.

Id: RF-025

Author: Brooks et al.

Full Authors: Ashley M. Brooks; Andrea Vornoli; Ramesh C. Kovi; Thai Vu T. Ton; Miaofei Xu; Ahmed Mashal; Eva Tibaldi; Federica Gnudi; Jian-Liang Li; Robert C. Sills; John R. Bucher; Daniele Mandrioli; Fiorella Belpoggi; Arun R. Pandiri

Year: 2024

Title: Genetic profiling of rat gliomas and cardiac schwannomas from life-time radiofrequency radiation exposure study using a targeted next-generation sequencing gene panel

Journal: PLOS ONE

Citation: Brooks AM, Vornoli A, Kovi RC, Ton TVT, Xu M, Mashal A, Tibaldi E, Gnudi F, Li JL, Sills RC, Bucher JR, Mandrioli D, Belpoggi F, Pandiri AR. Genetic profiling of rat gliomas and cardiac schwannomas from life-time radiofrequency radiation exposure study using a targeted next-generation sequencing gene panel. PLOS ONE. 2024;19(1):e0296699. Correction: PLOS ONE. 2026;21(4):e0346498. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0296699.

Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296699

Pmid: 38232086

Topic: Tumours

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: False

Exposure: Reuses RI 1.8 GHz lifetime tissues from RF-002 and one-year interim exposed non-tumour brain samples; 0/5/25/50 V/m. The 2024 methods print 1.001 W/kg, inconsistent with RF-002's 0.001 W/kg for the lowest exposed group. No published correction to that SAR detail was verified.

Design: 14 gliomas (12 exposed, 2 spontaneous), 9 cardiac schwannomas (8 exposed, 1 spontaneous); 30 interim exposed non-tumour brains; age-matched non-tumour controls; matched kidney genomic controls.

Finding: Targeted 23-gene panel found some rat tumour variants homologous to human cancer variants; canonical human IDH1 R132/IDH2 R172 hotspots were absent. Morphology and mutation profiles inform translation, not proof that RF caused the mutations.

Boundary: Same bioassay, not independent cancer replication; small spontaneous-tumour comparator; targeted panel, not whole genome; no dose-related interim non-tumour mutation frequency.

Related: RF-002 tissue follow-up; RI/NIEHS collaboration. Count once as cohort.

Protection Question: How closely do these rat tumours resemble human cancers? Molecular comparisons can inform translation, while species differences and reused tissues prevent a new incidence finding or proof that RF caused particular mutations.

Access: Publisher full original methods/results/discussion, funding and 2026 correction reviewed; Scite flags correction.

Locator: Methods: Tissue samples, NGS analysis; Results: brain tumours, interim group, cardiac schwannomas; 2026 correction main text/Fig 4.

Notice: Correction dated 2026-04-02 (10.1371/journal.pone.0346498) replaces Fig 4 and changes interim-sample variant counts to at least 15/30 (50%) and 11/30 (37%). Not retracted.

Funding: NIEHS/DNTP intramural support and Children with Cancer UK; no competing interests declared; funders no role.

Conflicts: Authors declare no conflicts or competing interests, as documented in the retrieved source disclosure.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296699

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296699 | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0296699 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0346498 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38232086/

Verification Date: 2026-10-20