Oral sex raises the risk of getting cancer by 22 times says new study that reveals it may be the main way a tumour-causing virus is spread
- It is believed oral sex may be the main way HPV ends up in the mouth
- The viruses affect your skin and moist membranes which line the body
- In most of us, our immune system fights it off and it does not do any harm
- But on rare occasions it leads to a chain of events that ends in cancer
Oral sex dramatically increases the risk of throat cancer, a new study has found.
It is believed oral sex may be the main way human papillomavirus (HPV), more usually associated with cervical cancer, ends up in the mouth.
The group of viruses affect your skin and moist membranes which line the body, including the anus, cervix and mouth and throat.
HPV-16 is a well-known cause of 'oropharyngeal' tumours which affect the middle part of the throat including the soft palate, the base of the tongue and the tonsils.
The research, carried out by Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, suggested that people carrying the virus in their mouth were an alarming 22 times more likely to develop a potentially lethal tumour.
People traditionally view throat cancer as a disease that affects smokers and heavy drinkers in later life but over recent years, as cases have been rising, its been linked with the common HPV.
Spread by skin-to-skin contact, not just by sex, HPV affects almost everyone at some stage in their life.
In most of us, our immune system fights it off and it does not do any harm.
But on rare occasions, the virus takes hold, leading to a chain of events that ends in cancer of the cervix, penis, anus, vagina or mouth.
Around fifteen strains can cause cervical cancer, and HPV-16 is the most common.
Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, the star of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, has claimed his throat cancer which almost claimed his life had been caused by performing oral sex.
He beat the odds by recovering from a tumour categorised as stage 4, which often is terminal.
But the study, published in JAMA Oncology, is the first to show conclusively HPV-16's presence in the mouth leads to the development of oropharyngeal cancer, the type that affected Douglas.
It is also responsible for the majority of cervical cancers. Detection of HPV in the mouth has also been found to be related to sexual behaviour.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3411245/Oral-sex-raises-risk-getting-cancer-22-times.html#ixzz3xx6kAePL
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