• 2/9/2008
  • Blue Bell, PA
  • staff
  • InteliHealth (www.intelihealth.com)

Human papillomavirus is becoming one of the main causes of oral cancer in men. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that HPV causes as many cases of upper throat cancer as tobacco and alcohol.

The researchers attribute this to an increase in oral sex and a decline in smoking. The study looked at more than 30 years of data on oral cancer from the National Cancer Institute. It categorized about 46,000 cases of cancer, based on the cause, and determined that the incidence of HPV-related oral cancers had been rising steadily in men between 1973 and 2004. Within 10 years, HPV could cause more oral cancers than tobacco or alcohol, they say. On the more positive side, the tumors caused by HPV respond better to chemotherapy and radiation than others, The Associated Press reports.

The findings could give a boost to efforts to make the Gardasil vaccine against HPV available to boys. Currently, it is only approved for use in girls and young women.