Throat Cancer, Oral Sex and HPV Linked
10/2/2007 web-based article Darcy De Leon CancerWise.org Vaccination Encouraged in Boys If Warranted A link between throat cancer, oral sex and the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) has prompted researchers to encourage vaccination of boys with the HPV virus if ongoing studies deem it safe and effective in preventing viral infection, according to a review article published in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Cancer. Significance The recommendation for HPV vaccination in boys is one of the first to be publicly made by oncologists from a national cancer center. Erich Sturgis, M.D.M. D. Anderson's Erich Sturgis, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, and Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Behavioral Science, wrote the review. "We encourage the rapid study of the efficacy and safety of these vaccines in males and, if successful, the recommendation of vaccination in young adult and adolescent males," they write in the report. Research methods Sturgis and Cinciripini analyzed the most recent data containing head and neck cancer trends in the United States and reported the connection between throat cancer and HPV. Primary results Their review shows that a decline in smoking over the last 20 years (due to increased efforts to raise public awareness about the effects of tobacco use) has led to a decline in most head and neck cancers, except throat cancer. Also known as cancer of the oropharynx, throat cancer includes cancers of the tonsils, base of the tongue and soft palate, [...]