LONDON, (Reuters) – British scientists who conducted  the largest study yet into cell phone masts and childhood  cancers say that living close to a mast does not increase the  risk of a pregnant woman’s baby developing cancer.

In a study looking at almost 7,000 children and patterns of  early childhood cancers across Britain, the researchers found  that those who developed cancer before the age of five were no  more likely to have been born close to a mast than their peers.

“These results are reassuring,” said Paul Elliot, director  of the centre for environment and health at Imperial College  London, who worked on the study.

“We found no pattern to suggest that the children of mums  living near a base station during pregnancy had a greater risk  of developing cancer than those who lived elsewhere.”

Use of cell phones has increased dramatically in recent  years and questions have been raised about possible health  effects, including whether they may be linked to brain tumours  or other cancers.