The International Agency for Research on Cancer joins NextGEM

The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency becomes the 21st member of the consortium, which assesses possible health effects by electromagnetic fields

The International Agency for Research on Cancer Research (IARC), which forms part of the World Health Organization (WHO), joined the EU-funded NextGEM project. The IARC becomes that way its 21st project partner. NextGEM is a public-health-focused initiative generating knowledge on electromagnetic radiation (EMF) and its possible effects on human health.

The addition of IARC means great news for NextGEM, helping to achieve the project’s objectives. IARC will assist in the goal of identifying causal links and perform risk assessment of EMF exposure. More precisely, the WHO-belonging agency will lead the umbrella reviews of epidemiological studies on EMF exposure and cancer risks. This mission consists of synthesizing findings from observational studies on the correlation between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the cancer incidence among the population.

Systematic reviews (SR) and meta-analyses (MA) are considered the top of the evidence pyramid. Hence, they are key components in public health policymaking. However, it is possible that SRs and MAs on the same topic come to different conclusions. NextGEM aims to provide the highest quality of evidence and a complete overview of the literature body. To do so, NextGEM will systematically summarise and compare results of all relevant SRs and MAs on exposure to EMF and cancer risk.

Teaming up with the World Health Organization

The IARC is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization. Its mission is to promote international collaboration in cancer research and it brings together “skills in epidemiology, laboratory sciences, and biostatistics to identify the causes of cancer so that preventive measures may be adopted and the burden of disease and associated suffering reduced”.

They join that way NextGEM, a 4-year-long EU-funded project which started in 2022. Through scientific research, risk assessment tools, and the establishment of a dedicated hub, this initiative aims to provide evidence-based insights to inform regulatory decisions and promote confidence in the safety standards governing EMF exposure, especially during the implementation of the 5G technology.