Oral Sex May Cause More Throat Cancer Than Smoking in Men

Uh-oh.
Oral sex may cause more throat cancer brought on by HPV than smoking in men. This number is thought to surpass the amount of cervical cancer brought on by the virus.

Researchers examined 271 throat-tumor samples collected over 20 years ending in 2004 and found that the percentage of oral cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, surged to 72 percent from about 16 percent, according to a report released yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. By 2020, the virus-linked throat tumors — which mostly affected men — will become more common than HPV-caused cervical cancer, the report found.

Not good. And the makers of Gardasil have no plans to test whether or not it can help/prevent throat cancer. Why? Probably money motivations, we assume.

Pamela Eisele, a spokeswoman for Merck, said the company decided not to move ahead with a big oral cancer study “due to competing research and business priorities.” GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) has “no plans” to study the company’s competing vaccine Cervarix outside of cervical cancer, Jennifer Armstrong, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

“Business priorities.” That sure doesn’t mean “keeping people from cancer.”
Gardasil is approved for both men and women between the ages of 9 and 26 in the prevention and treatment of HPV, and it does effect the strain of HPV that is thought to cause the throat cancer. But, we don’t know if it helps when it’s located in the throat.
We say people should be getting it anyway, regardless. Seriously. Just makes sense.
[Image via AP Images.]