Health

Oral Sex Causes Throat Cancer

The HPV16 strain

By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

10th of May 2007, 06:56 GMT

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Oral sex is nice and not followed by unwanted pregnancies. And you do not have to put the f**king condom.

But only fools can believe they are protected against STDs by oral sex.

A new research at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, shows that a common genital virus, found by some researches to be expanding can be transmitted by means of oral sex and induce a rare throat cancer in men and women alike.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is known as the leading cause of cervical cancer (in uterus) and now of oropharyngeal cancer.

The researchers investigated 100 men and women newly diagnosed with the rare malignancy and a control pool of 200 healthy people. They detected a common strain of HPV (HPV 16) inside 72 % of tumors. Individuals that had prior HPV infection were 32 times more likely to grow oropharnygeal cancer.

This disease kills 1,700 people yearly in US and attacks the throat, tonsils and back of the tongue. Patients with over six oral sex partners were 8.6 times more predisposed to the HPV-linked throat cancer. HPV turns to be the greatest risk factor for throat cancer, bypassing heavy smoking or alcoholism.

"It is important for health care providers to know that people without the traditional risk factors of tobacco and alcohol can nevertheless be at risk for oropharyngeal cancer," said co-author Gypsyamber D'Souza.

However, only a small percentage of men and women with HPV 16 develop cancer.

"People should be reassured that oropharyngeal cancer is relatively uncommon and the overwhelming majority of people with an oral HPV infection probably will not get throat cancer," said co-author Maura Gillison.

The researchers still cannot say why some individuals have resistance to the virus while others are vulnerable. HPV has an affinity for the mucosal skin cells of the penis, vagina and mouth.

"Oral cancers linked to HPV have been on the rise in the United States since 1973, a trend that may be driven in part by the popularity of oral sex among American teens," the authors said.

The researchers say that vaccination programs could combat the dangerous strains of HPV.

TAGS:

virsu | throat | cancer | oral | sex

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Comment #1 by: Jonathan01 on 11 May 2007, 01:23 GMT

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Only in the USA is there such a relentless effort to connect anything sexual with something dirty, unhealthy, disgusting and life threatening.

This headline, perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, is pathetic nevertheless.

Let's say the worst of it is true, and 16 people die every year from throat cancer resulting from oral sex.

Umm, considering that 65,000 people die annually in car accidents, I'd say that is all the evidence anyone needs to drive less and have oral sex instead.

In fact driving should be prohibited, it's quite deadly.

Oral Sex with so few deaths is utterly safe in comparison, remember 16 die annually from oral sex related throatcancer vs. 65,000 dying annually from driving on the roads of this nation.

There is simply NO argument to justify such risk.

Outlaw driving it's deadly. People can ride bycycles, or take the bus.

Yeah that is stupid I know, but if this is stupid, how stupid is it to write an article trying to instill a fear of dying from cancer from engaging in oral sex, when the total # who die from it annually is 1/11th the # of people who die every day in car accidents.

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