Oral sex may cause throat cancer

[trumad]

Shit---that must mean I've got months, maybe days to live! :cry:

On edit: I'm not sure what kind of Oral sex they're talking about so don't even go there. ;-)

Maura Gillison at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, the US, and colleagues collected blood and saliva samples from the throats of 100 patients diagnosed with cancers of the tonsils or back of the throat.

The scientists also took samples from 200 healthy people for comparison. All of the study participants provided information about their sexual history, including the number of people with whom they had engaged in oral sex, reported online edition of New Scientist.

People who have had more than five oral-sex partners in their lifetime are 250 percent more likely to have throat cancer than those who do not have oral sex, the study suggests. Smoking or drinking increases the risk of such cancer by about threefold, the researchers said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthScience/Oral_sex_may_cause_throat_cancer/articleshow/2024693.cms

[Raven]

1. Ah, excuse me. Were those subject male or female?

[trumad]

3. Yeah--- I had to make a quick edit on my post...LOL

[HeeBGBz]

10. Either way, I'm doomed! n/t

[Parche]

59. Doomed

Me too..........do you want to start a seperate club on this subject????? :hi:

:toast:

[TahitiNut]

44. Both.

"Oral sex" in this study is independent of whether it's performed on males (fellatio) or females (cunnilingus). I doubt the gender of the performer is material - except to the participants.

[Madspirit]

52. The Sex of the person would matter

One would think the sex of the person would matter. You get whole different stuff in your mouth and throat when you go down on a man than when you go down on a woman. It's completely different "material".
Lee

[piedmont]

99. Yeah, but the viral particles would be shed by the skin on the outside, regardless

I would think that with HPV, the viral inoculum would be in the shed skin cells, not the semen. Just a guess, though.

[Roon]

2. that sucks

:rofl:

[Error]

55. It really blows...

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Like Mom said, don't put anything in your mouth that you don't know where it's been.

[Betsy Ross]

41. My older brother taught me

Don't fuck anything you wouldn't eat.

[Timex]

62. hmm

why does it sound weird?

[WilliamPitt]

5. Damn. By those statistics, I've been dead for six years now.

[tularetom]

6. This sounds suspiciously like something from the wives of Amreica

[Marnieworld]

13. Not this wife

:D

:spank:

[Eurobabe]

26. My first thought was some Winger group ordered up this phoney research

HOOEY!!

[TZ]

65. Its not

The medical community has said for years that its entirely possible to spread STD's like Herpes through oral sex (remember that cold sore around the mouth are a form of herpes) so this research makes sense.

[Eurobabe]

91. I am aware of that, because I know someone who contracted HSVII that way

because of a cold sore. The story I read just had an overtly wingerish tone to it.

[Kber]

7. What if you've only had one sexual partner

But it's part of your regular, um, "routine"?

Just curious, honest.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Uh oh.

:hide:

[tabasco]

9. Oh well. gotta die from something. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

93. +1

[Monk06]

11. Hey Maura. Blow me !!! IBL

[Marnieworld]

12. There's a lot of clarification missing in this article

Is it about the number of partners or could you be just as susceptible if it was frequent with just one person? Does that mean it's communicable? And really define oral sex? There's no indication of are they specifically talking about it being performed on one gender or is it the same with both? And of course there is the issue of, ahem, um, you know, if the act is performed to completion and choices about that. And did they study actual rates of infection based on how good you are at it? I need more info before panicking.

Something tells me that there would be a lot more throat cancer if this was true. With Johns Hopkins involved it seems credible but perhaps a non-Indian publication would have the salicious details that apparently I'm wanting.

:blush:

[trumad]

16. "based on how good you are at it"? ---snarf

I know some girls who should live forever and some who won't make it to 2008. ;-)

[TahitiNut]

50. Here're other articles regarding the same study ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6639461.stm
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11819-oral-sex-can-cause-throat-cancer.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=65123
http://www.physorg.com/news97950836.html
http://www.emaxhealth.com/48/11944.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070510.wxloral10/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

[poverlay]

14. That's ridiculous! I can't believe how idiotic that is. Give me a hundred people and I'll perform

a study which suggests that smiling gives you lip cancer. To quote Colonel Potter:

"HORSEHOCKEY!"

[Rosemary2205]

73. Heart attacks are caused by beige carpet.

We did an informal study recently that proved beige carpet causes heart attacks. We interviewed 40 people we knew had a heart attack and low and behold every single one of them had walked on beige carpet in their lifetime. :) :)

[steelyboo]

96. Exactly, who were the participants of this survey?

250 regular people and 1 guy born without a mouth? Saying 250 times more likely doesn't mean shit without a point of reference. Do they mean a "normal" person? What if the "normal" chances of getting throat cancer are .000001%?

[sg_]

15. Thats going to be hard to swallow for some...

ill get my coat

[Stephanie]

90. you bad!

:spank:

[DrunkenMaster]

17. post hoc, ergo propter hoc anyone?

What a great example of mistaking correlation for causation. Ridiculous.

[gollygee]

22. I should have read your response first

yeah that was my first thought too.

[poverlay]

23. Thanks for saying that. I couldn't get it out around the big-cancer-causing-cock in my mouth. nt

[Occulus]

82. .

:spray:

[nealmhughes]

72. Ah, another admirer of D. H. Fischer, I see!

Want a good example of false correlation:

"Fire rates in the city of Baltimore have increased 250% since the introduction of fire codes in the city." Something a wingnut professor non-colleague once told his class. A freshman quietly asked, "But Dr. B____, hasn't the population probably increased greatly since the introduction of fire codes and how many buildings were electrified at the turn of the century and have not been inspected since then?"

One is reminded of the correlation of global mean temperature to rates of piracy. When temperatures rise, piracy increases.

I love the graph and wish I could find it again!

[jody]

18. How does that compare with chewing tobacco? If simultaneously, would the effect be additive? n/t

[LeftishBrit]

And you know what the Right will say...

'This just proves that everything is the fault of the Clenis!'

[trumad]

20. Poor Monica--Clinton killed her.

[Catherine Vincent]

46. delete

responded to wrong post.

[gollygee]

19. Correlation/causation?

Maybe people who have oral sex (or sex in general) more often are also more likely to do other things that can cause throat cancer? Like hang out in nightclubs that are filled with smoke?

[Raksha]

21. Saw this yesterday on another forum.

It's all Bill Clinton's fault, donchaknow? Nobody in America would ever have heard about oral sex if it wasn't for him. :sarcasm:

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trumad]

28. Wow 5 posts in and your worried about a symbol

My thread fly trapped a live one---

Check his last post :

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=printer_friendly&forum=389&topic_id=862916&mesg_id=863102

[Gold Metal Flake]

49. Aw, he's gone.

Must have been teh oral sex what dun him in lol omg eleven.

[Raksha]

31. The distress signal was more relevant before November 2006.

I've used that avatar ever since I first joined DU. Haven't decided yet if I'm just too lazy to change it, or whether it's still more relevant than I would like it to be.

[HeeBGBz]

33. Me too, prior to Nov 2006

I still feel my nation in distress. Just not quite as hopelessly so.

[kestrel91316]

34. In case you haven't noticed, the ship of state is in big trouble thanks to

that coke-head moron in the WH.

But I think you knew that.

Enjoy your stay.

[Bluebear]

36. Are you troubled & concerned, big guy? nt

[Catherine Vincent]

48. Our country is in distress.

Bushy is at the helm.

[movonne]

45. What a fad he started...It caught on fast.

[Beelzebud]

25. Sure, and trees cause global warming.

[live love laugh]

69. Yep and cell phones cause bees to disappear. n/t

[FourScore]

27. But what a way to go! n/t

[Horse with no Name]

29. Or come

:)

[malaise]

30. And on the tombstone

He/She came and went with a smile :D

[Horse with no Name]

32. ....

:rofl:

[Bluebear]

35. Ruh roh. nt

[RavensChick]

37. That's a scary thing

when you realize that all the things we used to do back in the day we can't do anymore? Looks like the next time I'm in the mood, skip this and go straight to the act itself. No more foreplay for me!

[HockeyMom]

38. After 33 years of marriage, I am DOOMED

ROFL Clinton? Who ever heard of Bill Clinton 30+ years ago?

Oh, wait. FAITHFULLY married couples only have missionary intercourse to PROCREATE, don't ya know.

:rofl:

[Bragi]

39. The Clinton administration would have acted on this

Okay, couldn't resist.

Goodnight.

- B

[enid602]

40. oral sex

Maybe they should post a warning on the package.

[Withywindle]

42. That's it, I'm doomed!

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, we're going down! :evilgrin:

[mediawatch]

43. I was told that

the stuff was good for you. Filled with vitamins and protein. That is the only reason I do it.

[deutsey]

47. Dammit, is NOTHING sacred anymore?

:evilgrin:

[Hekate]

51. I was expecting to read that they'd found an HPV link to this cancer

Wouldn't surprise me. And the smoking? Tobacco is already known to cause cancers of the entire airway, so that's two strikes against the immune system.

Still, although I hope eventually everyone quits using tobacco products, I somehow don't think abstinence is ever going to catch on.

Ever.

We're all doomed! Doomed I say!

Doomed to pleasantly procreation and recreation, that is.

Hekate

[joshcryer]

76. This *is* HPV related, which the OP neglects to mention:

http://news.google.com/news?q=hpv%20oral%20sex

[orleans]

81. sigh. (killjoy!) sigh. what'd ya have to get all serious for?

http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=C6YUN48nA8oJ&imgurl=www.themoneytimes.


"The Money Times Mouth, throat cancers strongly linked to HPV; oral sex increases risk
Aidsmap, UK - May 9, 2007
Oral sex, including both fellatio and cunnilingus, is the main route of transmission for oral HPV infection, the investigators say, although mouth-to-mouth ...
Both HPV and Oral Sex are Associated with Orpharyngeal Cancer ProLife Blogs
Practicing Oral Sex May Increase Throat Cancer Risk. News Locale
Oral Sex Spreads Virus, Might Lead to Throat Cancer (Update2) Bloomberg
The News - International
all 203 news articles » "

[haele]

95. If it's a cleanliness issue, I could possibly buy it.

Especially since there are some cancers - such as a form of cancer my father had in his kidney - that are viral or bacterial infections to begin with.
If the partner is already infected with something in the crotch area, it's possible to transmit that infection into the other partner's mouth - and if the body isn't used to "flushing" that particular infection out the system in that location, it's possible to develop lesions or cancers.
:shrug: Just another reason to know your partner, or at least be clean about whatever you do with them.

Haele

[Swamp Rat]

53. I'm already dead

:D

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

54. Damn!! Here I am blind, with hair all over my palms, now facing throat cancer?

Not to mention a disappointed wife if I pay heed to this dire warning.

[RavensChick]

56. Does anyone know

when exactly the study was done and for how many years were the volunteers monitored? Sounds to me that more details need to be revealed. Shock value is one thing, detailed information is another.

[Colobo]

57. That's BS.

[Zodiak]

58. LOL...from the description of this study, we have a classic case of...

...journalists not knowing what the hell they are reporting.

For example, what significance did the throat swab make? If these people had already been diagnosed with cancer, then what does the throat swab prove? Are they looking for remnants of a blow job? This sentence does not contribute at all to the description of the study other than to lull the confused into thinking that "something" relevent to the article title (like sexdual history) can be gleaned from a throat swab.

Next, the article talks about sexual history. It does not talk about the number of incidents of oral sex, only the number of partners. Well, then the oral sex itself is not the problem....duh!!! If you've blown you husband 10,000 times, it makes no difference. In other words, the mechanical act does NOT contribute to this difference in treatment groups.

But something does...which is not mentioned in the excerpt from the article. Roughly 25% of the American population is infected with Herpes. I do not know how many have the human papilloma virus, but I would imagine it is quite a bit (I am not expert on health issues, especially sexal ones). It could be that the presence of the virus is a contributing factor since roughly one out of 5 partners is going to have a problem in that area.

So...the study may be correlating number of sexual partners with increase in cancer (which s well-established). The novel discovery is that this tranmission of cancer-causing virions seems to affect the throat, as well. But the risk is only 2 1/2 times as much as sporadic throat cancer. I would still say the overall risk for that is really low.

[joshcryer]

77. The link in the OP is a very short summery, you can find more info on Google News. It's HPV related.

http://news.google.com/news?q=hpv%20oral%20sex

[leftofthedial]

60. cancer

Everything
Everything gives you cancer
Everything
Everything gives you cancer
There's no cure, there's no answer
Everything gives you cancer

Don't touch that dial
Don't try to smile
Just take this pill
It's in your file

Don't work hard
Don't play hard
Don't plan for the graveyard
Remember -

Everything
Everything gives you cancer
Everything
Everything gives you cancer
There's no cure, there's no answer
Everything gives you cancer

Don't work by night
Don't sleep by day
You'll feel all right
But you will pay

No caffeine
No protein
No booze or
Nicotine
Remember -

[spacelady]

74. Joe Jackson Rawks!!

[H2O Man]

61. You are

who you eat.

[TahitiNut]

64. (lol!)

No more box lunches at the 'Y' for me. (sigh)

[CatWoman]

70. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!

:rofl:

[WillyT]

87. I Swear... I Saw This Great Bumper Sticker In S.F. Similar To That...

I sitting in traffic some years ago in Frisco, and I see this bumper sticker on the car in front of me, it said:

If You Are What You Eat, I Could Be You By Morning

Laughed my butt off.

Cheers!

:toast:

[mmonk]

63. That plus smoking..........

Something else to worry about.

[Kelly Rupert]

66. From HPV or what?

[joshcryer]

75. It's HPV and the risk is still very very low. So nothing controversial here. Move along. :)

[Kelly Rupert]

79. Ah. So it's totally obvious, then.

"CANCER-CAUSING VIRUS MAY CAUSE CANCER WHEN INGESTED!"

[Liberal In Texas]

67. Oh oh. Might as well have another cigarette. n/t

[babylonsister]

68. This is just stupid! I'm speechless at how dumb. So what are they trying to

suggest? Oral sex=bad, missionary=good?:eyes: And then, natch, vaginal intercourse will cause ovarian cancer. No sex=good! :silly:

[tammywammy]

71. Actually, they're just saying

that you should use condoms even when participating in oral sex.

[Kelly Rupert]

80. Since it's caused by HPV, ANY UNPROTECTED SEX IS BAD.

Seriously. You should already know that.

[babylonsister]

83. I'm 51, have been married for 25 years, so I'm not too worried about

what I contracted prior to that. I'm clean, honest!

And BTW, how many people do you know who have throat cancer? I don't know a soul; I know they're out there, but to pin it on oral sex sounds lame to me.

[Kelly Rupert]

89. Then engage in all the oral sex you want.

All this article was claiming was that, in addition to cervical cancer, HPV can cause throat cancer as well. If you've been married for 25 years and you're both monogamous, there's nothing to worry about at all. This sounds pretty low-risk anyway, but it makes sense.

[Canuckistanian]

78. Smoking, drinking, oral sex......

Maybe that's why our ancestors never lived as long as WE do.

They never did any of those things........

[newportdadde]

84. Good news is they have a cure its called marriage...

[Hekate]

98. That's not a "cure" and it's only preventive if the couple has NEVER had other sexual contacts

But I think you knew that.

How about we betroth children into arranged marriages?

Hekate

[BlueIris]

102. This poster wasn't pushing monogamy, he was trashing his spouse.

Like a lot of people on this thread, who apparently feel entitled to unfettered sexual access to their marital partners simply because they are married to them. Sad. Just 'cause you signed the marriage license doesn't mean you're entitled to treat your wife like a milk cow (or a prostitute) 24-7. Learn to suck it yourself if your "need" is that voracious (then maybe you'll appreciate why your wife wants to opt out every now and again...or would opt out forever if she could).

[undeterred]

85. So 40 years of heavy smoking and drinking was not the reason

my loner uncle got it?

[bonito]

86. Great timing 59 dems today got a mouth full n/t

[johnaries]

88. 63% of men admit to masturbating. 37% are liars. n/t

[BlueIris]

92. Lots of trashing of the wives in this thread.

You gotta give it to get it, fellas. And you have to figure out how to be any good at it for your woman to want to reciprocate.

[Czolgosz]

94. Cancer of the throat and nasal passages has also been linked to secondhand smoke:

"Among lifelong nonsmokers, there was a strong and statistically significant positive association between NPC risk and exposure to substantial secondhand smoke as a child or as an adult in women." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10652428&dopt=Abstract

Secondhand smoke has even been linked to nasal cancer in dogs:
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/147/5/488.pdf

[Behind the Aegis]

97. If that is the case...I refuse to give up smoking!

Why are all the fun things that go in your mouth so dangerous?! :shrug:

[piedmont]

100. Risk of contracting throat cancer for the pure of heart: 1 in 100,000...

risk of same for people who have some fun before they die: 2.5 in 100,000. Seems like a bargain to me.

[donheld]

101. At least I'll die with a smile on my face

:D