Oral Sex Linked to Throat Cancer

A new study done by the researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center has discovered that oral sex is linked to throat cancer. This study, which was published in the May 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, reveals that the risk was almost nine times higher for people who reported oral sex with more than six partners.

Human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be transmitted during oral sex, is the main cause of oropharyngeal cancer (located in the tonsils, back of the tongue, and throat), researchers found. The study is the first to prove the link. In 2000, study author and cancer virus expert Maura Gillison, M.D., Ph.D. reported that she suspected there was a link between HPV and throat cancer but an extensive study had to be done to prove that possibility.

Researchers compared 100 men and women who were recently diagnosed with throat cancer with 200 similar people without the disease. After doing research on the blood and salvia, and asking sex-related and family history questions, they found that participants who reported having oral sex (fellatio or cunnilingus) with six or more partners were at the highest risk of contacting throat cancer.

HPV16 - one of the most common cancer-causing strains of the virus - was present in the tumors of 72% of cancer patients in the study.

It was also revealed that those with HPV infection were 32 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer. However, the risk is relatively low. People who have an oral HPV infection would probably not get throat cancer, as oropharyngeal cancer is relatively uncommon. HPV infection is said to be a much stronger risk factor than tobacco or alcohol use, meaning that people who were infected with HPV and drank or smoked, there was no added risk. Which suggests that non-smokers or non-drinkers are just as much at risk.

It is known that 80% of sexually active women can expect to contact an HPV infection at some point of their lives, however many women do not know that HPV infection is the cause of the majority of cervical cancers. In most cases, HPV infections will clear with little or no symptoms, but a small percentage of people will develop cancer.

"There is conflicting evidence about the role of HPV, and this rare type of mouth cancer," Cancer Research UK reports. "As this was a small study, further research is needed to confirm these observations."

A vaccine, Gardasil, is available which protects against several strains of HPV, including the one linked to oral cancer. Yet it has not been specifically tested in relation to oral cancer.