Oral sex is the leading risk factor for deadly throat cancer – 8 signs you must know

THE UK and other countries have seen an ‘epidemic’ of throat cancer cases over the past two decades – and experts have linked the rise to oral sex.

Scientists say there’s been a rapid increase in a specific type of throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer.

This affects the back of the throat and the tonsil area and is mainly caused by the the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV is sexually transmitted but – because it doesn’t tend to cause symptoms or problems – most people don’t even know they have it. This group of viruses is also the principal cause of cervical cancer.

But Hisham Mehanna – a professor at the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham – said that oropharyngeal cancer has now become more common than cervical cancer in the UK, as well as the US.

Experts have also observed an increase in HPV-positive tumours.

Writing in The Conversation, Hisham said people who’ve have more sexual partners throughout their lifetime – and indulged in oral sex – are at higher risk of developing this type of throat cancer.

“Those with six or more lifetime oral-sex partners are 8.5 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those who do not practise oral sex,” he explained.

Most of us catch HPV infections and are able to clear them completely, Hisham continued.

“However, a small number of people are not able to get rid of the infection, maybe due to a defect in a particular aspect of their immune system.

“In those patients, the virus is able to replicate continuously, and over time integrates at random positions into the host’s DNA, some of which can cause the host cells to become cancerous.”

Many countries already vaccinate young girls against HPV to prevent cervical cancer – Hisham said there in increasing, ‘indirect’ evidence that the jabs also effectively prevent mouth HPV infections.

In places where over 85 per cent of girls are vaccinated against HPV, boys might also get protection through ‘herd immunity’, research shows.

But herd immunity can’t protect people on an individual level, Hisham noted – he gave the example of someone having sex with someone from a country with low HPV jab coverage.

In the UK, girls are offered their first HPV jab dose in Year 8, and their second one up to two years later. Boys were also added into the programme in 2019, in the hope that  HPV-related cancer cases would fall dramatically in the future.

But recent government figures showed that HPV vaccine coverage decreased by 7 per cent in Year 8 girls and 8.7 per cent in year 8 boys in 2021 to 2022, when compared to the previous academic year.

What are the signs of oropharyngeal cancer?

Around 70 per cent of oropharyngeal cancers in the UK are linked to HPV, according to Cancer Research UK – around 8,500 new cases of mouth and oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed each year.

The increase of HPV positive oropharyngeal cancer has been seen in younger people aged between 40 and 50 years, who do not smoke, the charity added.

But it noted: “We know that oropharyngeal cancers containing HPV tend to do better than cancers that don’t contain HPV.”

Symptoms of mouth and oropharyngeal cancer include:

1. ulcers that don’t heal
2. pain in your mouth
3. red or white patches in your mouth or throat
4. difficulty swallowing
5. speech problems
6. a lump in your neck
7. weight loss
8. bad breath

Many common conditions can cause these symptoms, but it’s important to get them checked by a doctor or dentist, Cancer Research UK noted.

Aside from the HPV virus, activities like smoking, drinking alcohol and chewing tobacco can also increase someone’s risk of developing mouth and oropharyngeal cancer, Cancer Research UK said.

Not eating enough fruit and vegetables can have the same effect.