Unprotected Oral Sex Can Cause HPV, Cancer
August 4, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
Oral sex is believed to be “safe sex” by many teens and others who don’t use protection for the practice. However, it’s becoming alarmingly clear that unprotected oral sex can lead to transmission of human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause head and neck cancer.
Doctors note that in the last 20 years there’s been a rapid increase in tumors of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue. And people getting these cancers don’t have the typical risk factors. They may not be older patients who have smoked.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) hopes to better research how HPV affects head and neck cancer rates. An article at WebMD states that around 60% of patients with head and throat cancers today are infected with HPV. Compare that to only 20% of head and neck cancer patients infected with HPV 20 years ago.
According to WebMD, around half of the head and throat cancers diagnosed now are caused by HPV infection. That’s not all: Unprotected oral sex can also spread chlamydia and gonorrhea.
(Image via stock.xchng)
