Throat cancer on the rise, UK doctor blames oral sex

A recent study in the United Kingdom (UK) has concluded that cases of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of throat cancer, are quickly rising.

An expert from the Institute of Cancer in the UK has confirmed that having multiple oral sex partners is one of the leading factors to the rise of a throat cancer “epidemic.”

Hisham Mehanna is a professor at the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham in England.

According to the professor, the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex partners, is the main risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, thanks to the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Though relatively harmless, HPV is still one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, and past studies have shown that multiple sexual partners increases the risk of catching the virus which in turn can develop into cancers.

“In some patients, the virus (HPV) is able to replicate continuously, and over time integrates at random positions into the host’s DNA, some of which can cause the host cells to become cancerous,” Mehanna explained.

The New York Post reports that cases of HPV-linked oropharyngeal cancer rose annually in the United States by 1.3% in women and 2.8% in men from 2015 to 2019.

It further reported that 70% of oropharyngeal cancers — which affect the tonsils, base of the tongue and back of the throat — are caused by HPV infection in the US.

Safe sex practises, along with adoption of an HPV vaccine can significantly lower the number of throat cancers case reportedly annual.

According to the New York Post, one study explained that over 90% of HPV-associated cancers could be prevented with the HPV vaccination, but vaccine uptake remains suboptimal.

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