Oral sex causes cancer
Apr 23, 2010
LONDON - The number of head and neck cancers caused by a virus spread through oral sex is rising rapidly.
LONDON - The number of head and neck cancers caused by a virus spread through oral sex is rising rapidly.
The virus, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is spreading widely and doctors have now suggested vaccination for the youth.
The cancers are linked to those caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal.
Two vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil, can stop HPV, which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women.
Many rich nations have launched HPV immunisation programmes for girls to protect them from the common sexually transmitted virus before they become sexually active.
Scientists led by Hisham Mehanna of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies at University Hospital Coventry, said while immunising boys also may be too expensive, it is high time to include them also.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer among men and women, with about 640,000 new cases reported each year.
A recent study found the risk of contracting oropharyngeal carcinoma was linked to a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners, four or more lifetime oral sex partners, and for men, an earlier age at first sexual intercourse.
“Sexual transmission of HPV, primarily through oral sex, might be the reason for the increase in incidence of HPV related oral cancers,†wrote Mehanna.
The scientists pointed to recent studies which showed a 70% increase in the detection of HPV in oral cancer in Stockholm since the 1970s.
HPV-related cancer was also reported in about 80 percent of samples in recent studies in the United States, compared to 40 percent in the previous decade.
Mehanna said the findings had other important health implications. Patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers were typically younger and employed and because their tumours appeared to be less deadly than those caused by factors like smoking and drinking, patients may also live longer with the physical and psychological effects of treatment.
Reuters
The virus, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is spreading widely and doctors have now suggested vaccination for the youth.
The cancers are linked to those caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal.
Two vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil, can stop HPV, which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women.
Many rich nations have launched HPV immunisation programmes for girls to protect them from the common sexually transmitted virus before they become sexually active.
Scientists led by Hisham Mehanna of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies at University Hospital Coventry, said while immunising boys also may be too expensive, it is high time to include them also.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer among men and women, with about 640,000 new cases reported each year.
A recent study found the risk of contracting oropharyngeal carcinoma was linked to a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners, four or more lifetime oral sex partners, and for men, an earlier age at first sexual intercourse.
“Sexual transmission of HPV, primarily through oral sex, might be the reason for the increase in incidence of HPV related oral cancers,†wrote Mehanna.
The scientists pointed to recent studies which showed a 70% increase in the detection of HPV in oral cancer in Stockholm since the 1970s.
HPV-related cancer was also reported in about 80 percent of samples in recent studies in the United States, compared to 40 percent in the previous decade.
Mehanna said the findings had other important health implications. Patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers were typically younger and employed and because their tumours appeared to be less deadly than those caused by factors like smoking and drinking, patients may also live longer with the physical and psychological effects of treatment.
Reuters