Oral sex linked to cancer

2005-11-17 07:41

Stockholm - Certain cases of mouth cancer appear to be caused by a virus that can be contracted during oral sex, media reported here on Wednesday, quoting a new Swedish study.

People who contract a high-risk variety of the human papilloma virus, HPV, during oral sex are more likely to fall ill with mouth cancer, according to a study conducted at the Malmoe University Faculty of Odontology in southern Sweden.

"You should avoid having oral sex," dentist and researcher Kerstin Rosenquist, who headed the study, told Swedish news agency TT.

HPV is a wart virus that causes many cervical cancers, including endometrial cancer (in the uterus)

Comparing 132 patients with mouth cancer with a control group of 320 healthy people, Rosenquist found that 36% of the cancer patients were carriers of HPV while only 1% of the control group had the virus.

The main factors that contribute to mouth cancer, most commonly contracted by middle aged and older men, are smoking and drinking alcohol, scientists agree.

"But in recent years the illness has been on the rise among young individuals and we don't know why. But one could speculate that this virus (HPV) is one of the factors," Rosenquist said.

Her findings confirm other international studies in recent years.

- AFP