Oral sex and cancer

The human papillomavirus is contributing to the growing number of head and neck cancers in the United States. A study found that the number of cases of oropharyngeal cancer - cancers of the tonsil, back of the mouth (throat) and base of the tongue - has been on the rise since the mid-1980s. The study suggests that one reason could be an increase in the number of people having oral sex resulting in oral human papillomavirus exposure. Researchers say that these cancers fall into two categories – those caused by tobacco and alcohol and those caused by the sexually transmitted virus, HPV. They now believe that approximately 70% of all oropharyngeal cancers are caused by HPV infection. Researchers tested cancer tissue samples from almost 6,000 patients in Hawaii, Iowa and Los Angeles between 1984 and 2004. They found that HPV-positive cancers increased 225% while HPV-negative oropharynx cancers dropped 50% – most likely because of a reduction in smoking and tobacco use.