Oral sex can transmit HPV and lead to cancer

Regarding the March 17 Gomers about the recent increase in cancers associated with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), The Gazette mentions that heavy alcohol and tobacco use are believed to contribute to the large increase in oropharyngeal cancer among men. However, it fails to mention that certain strains of HPV transmitted through oral sex also can cause these cancers.

A study from the New England Journal of Medicine (2007; 356: 1944-56) found that an HPV infection outweighs the risk of getting an oral cancer associated with heavy alcohol and tobacco abuse. Often oral sex is considered less risky (especially by teens since it doesn't cause a pregnancy), but it is still a form of sex that can carry unintended consequences such as acquisition of an HPV infection that eventually can lead to oral cancer.

Rachel Ann Aalbers

Mount Vernon