Oral cancer cases are rising in the UK. The main risk of oral cancer is still through drinking alcohol and smoking or chewing tobacco. However, research is linking specific types of the disease to oral sex through the human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, although the exact percentage of oral cancers related to HPV is not yet known.
Research is still trying to find out how common HPV mouth infection is – a recent US study suggested figures of around 10% for men and 3.6% for women. Risk factors identified in the study included having a high number of sexual partners and smoking cigarettes.
Of the more than 100 types of HPV known to science, 15 are linked to cancers, such as vaginal cancer, cervical cancer and anal cancer. Skin-to-skin contact is enough to pass on some types of HPV and these will be seen on the skin in warts. How a person gets infected in the mouth with HPV is not yet known. However, as HPV can be sexually transmitted, it is considered likely that it has happened through oral sex.
Oral sex also presents a risk of passing on other infections, such as herpes, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis.
HPV does not directly cause cancer but instead can change the behaviour of the cells it has infected, which can become cancer – this process can take place over years and occasionally the infection disappears naturally from the body. HPV is a very common infection but figures show that only a tiny amount of those with the virus will go on to have cancer.
As most cervical cancers are HPV related, there is a vaccination programme in the UK to protect all girls aged 12 and 13 against HPV and, in the long term, reduce the cases of HPV infection in women. There is no current evidence to suggest that the vaccine can protect against oral cancers that are HPV related.
Consult your GP if you have any symptoms of oral cancer, such as red and white patches inside your mouth or on your tongue; mouth ulcers that won’t heal; or pain when swallowing. Early diagnosis can mean a good prognosis.
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