Oral Sex Can Boost Cancer Risk? | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Thursday 24 February 2011

Oral Sex Can Boost Cancer Risk?

Here's a crucial message for teens: Oral sex carries many of the same risks as vaginal sex, including human papilloma virus, or HPV. And HPV may now be overtaking tobacco as the leading cause of oral cancers in America in people under age 50.

"Adolescents don’t think oral sex is something to worry about," said Bonnie Halpern-Felsher professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. "They view it as a way to have intimacy without having 'sex.'"
Halpern-Felsher and other researchers presented the latest information about the risks of contracting an HPV infection Sunday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting.

The latest data suggest that 64% of oropharynx cancers - growing in the middle part of the throat - in the United States are caused by HPV, which is more than tobacco causes, said Maura Gillison of Ohio State University. And as the number of partners on whom you have performed oral sex goes up, the risk of oropharnyx cancer goes up.

About 37,000 people per year receive a diagnosis of  oral cancer, according to the Oral Cancer Foundation.
Just about everyone has had at least one of the 130 strains of HPV. The vaccines currently available, Gardasil and Cervarix, only protect against a few of them. But not all of the strains are cancer-causing. Certain types cause warts on the hands and feet that are benign.


About 5% of cancers worldwide are caused by HPV, and some turn up in some surprising places. A University of Washington study found that some men carry HPV 26 under their fingernails, which can lead to a form of cancer called digital squamous cell carcinoma. Proper hand-washing can help prevent this from happening, said Dr. Diane Harper, leading HPV researcher at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.
But this isn't nearly as common as HPV causing cancer in other areas of the body, such as the oral cavity and the cervix.

In the countries that have cervical cancer screening, the prevalence of cervical cancer is five times lower than in other countries, indicating that the testing is effective, Harper said.
Why HPV causes cancer in some people and not others is still mysterious. Studies of the cervix have found that 70% of infections resolve by themselves within one year, and 90% within two years. It's that remaining 10% that actually turn into more serious infections, and 5% lead to treatable precancerous lesions, Harper said.

Two well-established mechanisms of prevention in terms of sexually transmitted HPV are condom usage and circumcision, although neither completely eliminates the risk, Harper said.

A large ongoing study called HITCH is examining questions of HPV transmission and infection in greater detail. So far, it's found that couples can "ping-pong" HPV back and forth to each other, which is one reason  that the virus may take so long to clear naturally.
As for getting HPV from kissing, that's not clear, and there isn't enough data to say anything about it yet, Harper said.

It's very hard to get teens to listen to abstinence messages about oral sex, or to get them to use any kind of barrier method for these behaviors, Halpern-Felsher said. And since any risk factor under 50% sounds low to a very young person, throwing these precise statistics at them most likely won't make a difference.
But parents should have honest conversations with their teenagers about oral sex, Halpern-Felsher said. Tell them that the consequences of HPV may not happen right away, and while the risks may not be huge, they are significant. Potential long-term outcomes of cancer are quite concerning.

Source 

19 comments:

Surprise said...

Oral sex can boost Cancer Risk? Yeeparipa!!! Mogbe!!!. Why does this cancer thing want to spoil the best form of sex? Please where can one do the test in Naija. I need to run and do the test fast fast.

P.S. No bi only teenagers they do that kain tin o, na everybody wey dey sexually active.

Alicia says... said...

let's face it, everything causes cancer!!!
i wonder what Linda was looking up which inspired her to make this post? LOLOL!
:)

Anonymous said...

Yes, oral sex is known to be a leading cause of cancer- it has been implicated in the growing incidence of mouth, throat, tongue and even lip cancer. The more partners you have had oral sex with, the greater your risks of oral cancer- the same goes for anal cancer too. Thank you Linda for highlighting this issue because this is something that needs to be highlighted- we are all experiencing such high rates of all forms of cancers in the west and oral cancers can be medically and pyschologically difficult to treat too.

Anonymous said...

to add to my previous comments, oral sex carries higher risks as well for homosexuals

SOLA said...

anything milky causes cancer!

Unknown said...

lol.... Alicia (clear throat)

http://chizys-spyware.blogspot.com

muero_ebony said...

@sola
Anything milky causes cancer.really??? are u being serious or just joking???

Anonymous said...

I thot nigerian women don't blow job? so this post is not for them then.

Ifedayo said...

i like to talk about sex. but this particular one is scary. I'm out of here.

Mena UkodoisReady said...

Yes oh, and the leading cause of divorce is marriage.

Oh and sex with several partners can 'boost' HIV/Aids risk.

Oh and breasts and testicles cancers are on the increase.

oh and...why is the message directed at ONLY teens sef?

Look Linda hold yaself!Make we hear word. We are all gonna die one day :D

Mena

http://efemenaoreoluwa.blogspot.com/2011/01/help-2-my-husband-supported-by-his_25.html

hater said...

lol @surprise..you are a comedian!

no more bjs?

watch out;there would be serious protest!

Damie said...

I love Mena's comment. Abeg, everything is dangerous in this world. Tea, chocolate, sugar, carbs, gluten, wheat, gsm frequency, exposure to the sun, sex in fact, the air we breathe too is dangerous & unclean. Kilordem? & it's not only teenagers who engage in oral sex. Oral sex is just foreplay and it's delightful.
Linda, when last did you have oral sex that you are dedicating it to teenagers? You need to engage in life's little pleasures, biko. Lol

Wild Boy said...

@ Mena wooord...and sex increases risk of cervical cancer

franni said...

Sometin must kill someone someday. Kissin increases risk of peptic ulcer diease wch cud progress to gastric(stomach) ulcer. Strains of H.pyroli(microorganism) could be found in oropharynx. This H.pyroli is greatest cause of peptic ulcer.
Do we stop kissing?

Increased freq of coitus cud cause cervical cancer. Do we avoid sex? Incidence increases wen sex is started at early age, high numba of kids etc. Yea... Sperm is dangerous.beware of it.

Surprise no month B.J for u

Surprise said...

@Mena...Your comment 'Can Boost appetite for Oral sex'.

@hater.. Thanks for the compliment. And yes I am ready to actively participate in any protest regarding this issue.

@Damie...I Like the question and the advise given to Linda. Please help me tell her that I'm available
24/7 for her anytime she wan do am.

@Franni...What do you mean no more B.J. for me? Abeg if na play make u stop am. Why would you deny me my 'fundamental woman right'. Oya B.J. me now now.

Mena UkodoisReady said...

EEEEWWWW, INYAMAA! TUFIAKWA! *Snapping fingers around my head* WALLAHI TALLAHI, TOO MANY HEADmasters AND HEADmistresses on this thread!

Good thing am underaged children, barely 12years.(again :P )
I doesnt know what yall are hansking me about!!
Mena

http://efemenaoreoluwa.blogspot.com/2011/02/african-when-he-is-child-is-mostly.html

franni said...

Surprise,let ya wife catch Ʊ 1st.lol.if she catches Ʊ eh,the closest Ʊ'l eva com to a BJ is by namin ur son BolaJi den Ʊ can nickname him BJ. Eiyaaaaa?

Anonymous said...

now im really in the mood to give my babe cullingus. i love doing it to her and she is always happy so y not.abeg even too much book can kill, u sld cum to medilag and c how students develope mental illness towards pros (professional exams)

ayo said...

now im really in the mood to give my babe cullingus. i love doing it to her and she is always happy so y not.abeg even too much book can kill, u sld cum to medilag and c how students develope mental illness towards pros (professional exams)

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