Certain cases of mouth cancer appear to be caused by a virus that can be contracted during oral sex, media reported here on Wednesday, quoting a new Swedish study.
People who contract a high-risk variety of the human papilloma virus,
HPV, during oral sex are more likely to fall ill with mouth cancer, according
to a study conducted at the Malmoe University Faculty of Odontology in
southern Sweden.
"You should avoid having oral sex," dentist and researcher Kerstin Rosenquist, who headed the study, told Swedish news agency TT.
HPV is a wart virus that causes many cervical cancers, including
endometrial cancer (in the uterus)
Comparing 132 patients with mouth cancer with a control group of 320
healthy people, Rosenquist found that 36 percent of the cancer patients
were carriers of HPV while only one percent of the control group had the
virus.
The main factors that contribute to mouth cancer, most commonly
contracted by middle aged and older men, are smoking and drinking alcohol,
scientists agree.
"But in recent years the illness has been on the rise among young
individuals and we don't know why. But one could speculate that this virus (HPV) is one of the factors," Rosenquist said.
Her findings confirm other international studies in recent years.
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