A review on combined biological effects of microwave and other physical or chemical agents

With the development of science and technology, microwave has been used in many fields such as industry, military, medicine and communication. People are living in a lapped and dynamic electromagnetic environment. Concerns about potential hazards of microwave are getting increasing attentions. The single biological effects of microwave were widely discussed which was considered harmful. Relevant safety standards had been formulated and applied. However, the real environment was more complex. Microwave was not the only factor that organisms might be affected. Other physical or chemical factors, such as ionizing radiation (IR), ultraviolet (UV), magnetic field and chemical drugs, often existed with the microwave radiation. Even the microwave itself could create combined exposure situation, because the environment consisted different frequency microwaves. Nuclear weapons and high-power radar could produce microwave and ionizing radiation. The ultraviolet ray and magnetic field generated by the instrument's operation could act on the human bodies along with the microwaves. The combination of radiofrequency therapy and chemotherapeutic agents was also commonly used in cancer therapy. Therefore, the combined biological effects of microwaves and other physical or chemical factors were very important. This review had covered the original articles in this aspect. In order to better understand the combined biological effects, the comparative studies of different frequency microwaves were also included. Differences in biological effects were found among different frequency microwaves, and the combined biological effects contained both hazards and benefits. Findings in combined biological effects were very practical for rational uses of microwave technologies.