2023-05-11 04:18:41
In recent years, there has been a worrying rise in throat cancer cases in the western world. This worrying trend has led some experts to describe it as an epidemic. The main cause of this type of cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that causes cervical cancer. It is caused by unprotected sex, including Oral sextransfer.
Oral sex: HPV promotes cancerous growths
HPV is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, and when it comes to oropharyngeal cancer, the “most important risk factor” is oral sex with different people. Amazingly, people who have had six or more oral sex partners in their lifetime are 8.5 times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than people who have not had oral sex. Sometimes that comes from one Study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.
Behavioral studies of sexual practices have shown that oral sex is widespread in certain countries, explained Hisham Mehanna. Er ist Professor am Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences der University of Birmingham.
A comprehensive Study, which he carried out together with colleagues, delved even deeper into the matter. Around 80 percent of the nearly 1,000 adults surveyed said they had had oral sex at some point in their lives. However, only a small proportion of these people actually develop oral cancer, which left the researchers at a loss.
Natural protection does not always work
The prevailing theory is that most people who contract HPV are able to overcome the infection naturally. However, a small group of people are unable to clear the infection due to possible defects in certain areas of their immune system, Mehanna said.
In these cases, the virus continues to multiply in the body and eventually integrates into the host’s DNA, leading to the transformation of the host cells into cancer cells.
Gender-neutral vaccination policy
A high vaccination rate among girls and women is important in order to achieve public health benefits. But it does not guarantee individual protection.
“Paradoxically, there is some evidence from population studies that young adults, possibly in an effort to avoid penetrative intercourse, instead – at least initially – engage in oral sex.”
Hisham Mehanna
Recognizing the need for comprehensive protection, several countries, including the UK, Australia and the US, have expanded their national HPV vaccination recommendations to include males. The introduction of a gender-neutral vaccination policy is a step towards ensuring broader vaccination coverage and reducing the burden of mouth and throat cancer, warns Mehanna.
However, achieving optimal vaccination coverage remains a challenge.
Quellen: „Case–Control Study of Human Papillomavirus and Oropharyngeal Cancer“ (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2007); The Conversation; „Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Effectiveness and Potential Herd Immunity for Reducing Oncogenic Oropharyngeal HPV-16 Prevalence in the United Kingdom: A Cross-sectional Study“ (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2019)
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