Studies tie oral sex to throat cancer in some men
10/23/2007 Colorado Springs, CO Brian Newsome Colorado Springs Gazette (gazette.com) Several years ago, Dr. Joel Ernster noticed something strange in his Colorado Springs ear, nose and throat practice. A man with no history of heavy smoking or drinking developed an uncommon throat cancer usually caused by such habits. Over time, there were dozens more like him. Ernster investigated the trend and after three years of research has found what appears to be the answer: a virus likely transmitted by oral sex. In a study to be published in coming months in The Laryngoscope, a leading medical journal for ear, nose and throat specialists, the physician connects a significant increase in throat-cancer cases among men to the human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer in women. Men probably obtain the virus by performing oral sex on women who have an HPV infection of the cervix. Ernster said the cancer could develop as late as 20 years after the oral sex occurred. “Oral sex has implications that are way beyond what we first thought,” he said. Ernster’s research is the latest in a growing body of studies that have established a connection between the HPV virus and oropharyngeal (throat) cancer. A study published online in August and in print this month in the journal Cancer similarly suggests that a rise in throat cancer among men younger than 45 can be attributed to the HPV virus. Why cases among young men are increasing is unclear, but Ernster and others believe oral sex generally [...]