RF-024Original abstract verified

Lymphoma in genetically susceptible mice

Repacholi et al. · 1997 · Radiation Research

The reported 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.

Reading it carefully

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.

Inside the study

Exposure conditions

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 & controls

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.

Related research & shared cohorts

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.

The protection question raised

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.

Source verification

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.

Where to find the result

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).

Editorial notices

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 of interest

Not established from retrieved material.

Original publication

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.

Plain-text record