A new research study found a link between throat cancer and oral sex. Dr Hisham Mehanna from the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham has carried out the research. The study is published in the journal The Conversation.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cancer of the cervix.HPV is a common virus that spreads through vaginal, anal and oral sex with someone who is already infected.
The study found that oral sex has prompted a large rise in a specific type of throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer. This type of cancer affects the area of the tonsils and back of the throat.
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‘Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in throat cancer in the West, to the extent that some have called it an epidemic. HPV is sexually transmitted. For oropharyngeal cancer, the main risk factor is the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex,’Dr Mehanna wrote in The Conversation.
Previous studies have indicated that HPV infection is the biggest risk factor for developing the disease. People with six or more lifetime oral-sex partners are 8.5 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those who do not practice oral sex.
According to the UK’s health body, National Health Service (NHS), around 8,300 people are diagnosed with throat cancer each year in the UK which is about one in 50 cancers diagnosed.
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