People who have had oral sex with six or more partners in their lifetime are almost 10-times more likely to get throat cancer, a medic has warned.
Dr Hisham Mehanna, an expert in cancer at the University of Birmingham, said seven in 10 throat cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).
This normally harmless virus spreads through sexual contact and has been linked to causing changes in cells that can become cancer.
Writing for The Conversation Dr Mehanna said: ‘Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in throat cancer in the West, to the extent that some have called it an epidemic.’
‘This has been due to a large rise in a specific type of throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer.’
Oropharyngeal cancer is the most common type of throat cancer, appearing in the tonsils and back of the throat.
Medics consider HPV infection to be the biggest risk factor for developing the disease, outpacing other potential causes like smoking, alcohol and an unhealthy diet.
Dr Mehanna explained: ‘The prevailing theory is that most of us catch HPV infections and are able to clear them completely.’
Oral sex is driving an ‘epidemic’ of throat cancer , including in young patients an expert warns. Stock image
Dr Hisham Mehanna, an expert in cancer at the University of Birmingham, said people with multiple oral sex partners are almost 9 times likelier to get throat cancer in their lifetime
‘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 can cause cells to become cancerous.’
Dr Mehann added that those with multiple oral sex partners are at increased risk of cancer of the throat and mouth.
‘For oropharyngeal cancer, the main risk factor is the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex,’ he said.
‘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.’
In Britain, head and neck cancers — a category including throat cancer— are responsible for more than 12,000 cases of the disease and 4,000 deaths per year.
In the US more than 50,000 cases of oral or oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed each year, causing more than 10,000 annual deaths.
But data suggests rates are on the rise.
Official data show there were 3,834 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in England in 2019, a 47 per cent increase since 2013.
Separate data show rates of head and neck cancer have surged by more than a third in Britain — with the trend being driven partly by younger patients being diagnosed.
Data from the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) show a 60 per cent rise in cases among women and a 34 per cent rise in men aged 25 to 49, between 1993 and 2019.
CRUK estimates 73 per cent of oropharyngeal cancer cases in the UK are caused by HPV.
Cancer Research UK data show that cases of head and neck cancer are on the rise in Britian
HPV is a common virus spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex with someone who is already infected.
Around eight in 10 people will carry HPV in their body at some point, with around a third of the population infected at any one time, research suggests.
There are over 150 types of HPV, but only about 12 can cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk strains that can cause oropharyngeal cancer.
It isn’t clear if oral sex performed on a woman is riskier in terms of HPV transmission than oral sex performed on a man.
Research suggests the overwhelming majority of men (85.4 per cent) and women (83.2 per cent) perform oral sex during intimacy.
A vaccine to protect against HPV is available and offered to children aged 12 to 13 in the UK.
They are offered the vaccine at this age because the jab is considered to be most effective before someone becomes sexually active.
However, it is still offered to older children if they missed out, as well as men who have sex with men as they are considered at greater risk of HPV.
A vaccine to protect against HPV is available and offered to children aged 12 to 13 in the UK. This Government chart shows vaccine uptake among girls from 2014 to 2024, rates have declined in recent years
The HPV was later also offered to boys who have seen a similar decline in uptake
Hollywood legend Michael Douglas revealed in 2013 that his mouth cancer diagnosis was likely to have been caused by performing oral sex. Pictured above with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2021.
But the latest data for England shows only about seven in 10 eligible children had the jab in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, a significant decline compared to previous years.
This is despite research showing the roll-out of the jab helped cut cervical cancer rates among young women in Britain by 90 per cent.
US research suggests the jab could also have help slash rates of head and neck cancers.
A study involving 5million Americans found it halved rates of the disease in men.
In 2013 Hollywood legend Michael Douglas revealed that his mouth cancer was caused by contracting HPV by performing oral sex.
The Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct star, now 79, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 54, was successfully treated and is still cancer free.
