Ever since we started holding our cell phones up to our ears, there have been concerns that the radio waves they emit could cause cancer. The focus was on brain cancer and other cancers of the central nervous system, including gliomas, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, and pituitary tumors. Researchers reported that despite the large increase in the use of wireless technology in the past two decades, there had been no corresponding increase in brain cancer risk. What’s the origin of cell phones causing cancer? The radiation from cell phones is of a type known as nonionizing radiation.