French PW, Penny R, Laurence JA, McKenzie DR (2001)

French and colleagues hypothesize that exposure to mobile phones might induce or promote cancer via the heat shock response. They point out that the cellular response is characterized by the formation of heat shock proteins (HSPs), which protect cells against damage produced by stress. They cite evidence that HSPs can also play a role in cancer induction or promotion, though they state that there is debate as to whether the association with cancer is causal or correlative. The authors suggest that recurrent exposure to frequent mobile phone use could lead to chronic expression of HSPs in the brain tissue of users and that this in turn might induce or promote cancer. They state that this hypothetical mechanism should be tested experimentally.