HPV study finds 7% of U.S. teens, adults carry virus in mouths.. (HPV linked to oral cancer)

[RedEarth]

A new study showing an estimated 7% of American teens and adults carry the human papillomavirus in their mouths may help health experts finally understand why rates of mouth and throat cancer have been climbing for nearly 25 years. The evidence makes it clear that oral sex practices play a key role in transmission.

The new data, published online Thursday by the Journal of the American Medical Assn., are the first to assess the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the U.S. population. The findings indicate that the virus is not likely to spread through kissing or casual contact and that most cases of oral HPV can be traced to oral sex, which many Americans mistakenly view as a safe practice.

"There is a strong association for sexual behavior, and that has important implications for public health officials who teach sexual education," said Dr. Maura L. Gillison of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, who led the study and presented the findings Thursday at a meeting of head and neck cancer researchers and doctors in Phoenix.


......


Researchers also noted age differences: Those in their early 60s had the highest prevalence at 11.4%. That's in marked contrast to cervical HPV infection, which is most common among women in their early 20s. It's unclear why the prevalence of oral HPV peaks much later in life, Gillison said. One possibility is that the immune system weakens with age, making people more vulnerable to latent infections. Another theory is that study participants in their 60s grew up during an era of sexual permissiveness that preceded public health messages about safe sex.


http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-oral-hpv-20120127,0,1665761.story

[denem]

1. Moral: Sex is bad for you. No sex is safe.

Just say no, especially to anything icky.

cf: HPV vaccines encourage teenage sex. (Ask Gov. Perry)

Who funded this research?

HPV does not equal cancer, it's a risk factor.

It's safer to go down than smoke.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Careful now or next thing you know

icky will be added to the list of banned words here.

[denem]

3. LOL.

I can't understand normal thinking.

[denem]

4. CDC: 50% of sexually active people will have genital HPV at some time in their lives.

http://www.cdc.gov/hpv/

but 7& oral HPV is terrifying?

The risk is real, but the flurry of reports is something else.

[Robb]

5. 11% of people in their 60's carry the oral virus.

That's many more than was previously known or even suspected. It's news.

[denem]

6. Agreed. But the headlines are directed at teens (as per the OP)

Have intercourse. Oral sex isn't safe anyway.

[Robb]

7. Good point.

Maybe the headline writer thinks "teens" sells the story better than "people over 60."

[xchrom]

8. Is Oral Sex to Blame for the Surge in Cancer of the Mouth and Throat?

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/is-oral-sex-to-blame-for-the-surge-in-cancer-of-the-mouth-and-throat/251759/

Earlier this month, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released its annual Cancer Facts & Figures. The 2012 report includes some encouraging facts. Since 1990, the incidence of some common tumors including lung, colon, and prostate cancer has declined. Meanwhile, the rate of seven malignancies, like those of the lower mouth and throat linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), is increasing. The cause of this trend, which many assume is linked to people engaging in more oral sex, is not as straightforward as you might think.

Oropharyngeal cancers refer to tumors of the tonsils and rear tongue, back of the palate and posterior walls of the throat. Like their anatomical neighbors -- malignancies of the larynx, vocal cords, anterior and mid-tongue, other parts of the mouth and lips -- oropharyngeal cancers arise more often in people who drink and smoke heavily. These other head and neck cancers have waned in recent years, probably because North Americans are smoking fewer cigarettes and chewing less tobacco.

The ACS estimates there will be 13,500 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S. this year. This includes both HPV positive and negative cases; nearly 11,000 men and over 2,500 women will be affected; some 2,300 will succumb to this condition. Between 1999 and 2008, the rate of HPV positive oropharyngeal cancers by rose 4.4 percent per year in white men and by 1.9 percent per year in white women. Changes among other racial and ethnic groups were not significant, according to the report. The biggest rise emerged in men between the ages of 55 and 64 years.

"Like investigators elsewhere, we're seeing an increased incidence of oropharyngeal cancer," says Dr. John Deeken, a medical oncologist at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center. Cancer-causing HPV strains tend to infect immune cells at the base of the tongue and tonsils, Deeken explains. "This may be why we're seeing the virus in tumors in those parts of the oropharynx, while the incidence of lip, larynx, and vocal cord cancers is not going up." If the cancer were simply caused by infection with HPV upon sexual transmission there would be more cases in women, he considers.

"The epidemiology is perplexing," he says. "The assumption, when we noticed the trend eight or nine years ago, was that this was a sexually transmitted disease due to more oral sex," he says. "But at least at Georgetown, we have patients in their 80s with this kind of cancer," he notes. "That raises questions about the sexual habits of Americans who are older, or about HPV."

[Art_from_Ark]

9. And then, there's regular old gum disease

that has been linked to cancer

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20090908/advanced-gum-disease-may-raise-cancer-risk