Study: Oral sex linked to oral cancer

While till date, activities such as smoking and heavy drinking were linked to oral cancer, a recent study has revealed that oral sex is the main cause behind oral cancer.

As per the data presented by researchers, around 64 percent of cancers related to oral cavity, head, and neck are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), in the U.S.

NPR stated that oral sex is the major reason behind the spread of HPV. A person involved in more oral sex activities or one who has a large number of oral sex partners is more prone to this precarious cancer.

Commenting on the findings of this study, Dr. Maura Gillison said, "An individual who has six or more lifetime partners - on whom they've performed oral sex - has an eightfold increase in risk compared to someone who has never performed oral sex.”

This news is also a warning for the parents, who are already concerned about the oral sex appetite of their children in adolescent stage.

Dr. Gillison and colleagues said, "Today's teens consider oral sex to be casual, socially acceptable, inconsequential, and significantly less risky to their health than 'real' sex.”

8000 patients to die because of cancer this year
Expressing his concern over the teen’s knowledge about the oral sex and its affects, Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher pointed out that teens ignore the activity of oral sex by calling it "not that a big a deal."

In an interview with NPR, Dr. Halpern-Felsher, professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco said, "Parents and health educators are not talking to teens about oral sex.”

Explaining the dangerous affects of oral sex, Gillison said, "When my patients ask whether they should vaccinate their sons, I say 'certainly. The vaccine will protect them against genital warts and anal cancer and also as a potential byproduct of that it may protect them against oral cancer caused by HPV."

As per the data revealed by Oral Cancer Foundation, around 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer, this year and about eight thousand patients are assumed to die from various kinds of cancers.