Risk factor
Scientists have confirmed that oral sex with many partners is associated with an increased risk of oropharyngeal cancer
Maria Azarova, Naked Science
The authors of the new study have received evidence that not only the number of partners for oral sex, but also other factors that were not previously taken into account, affect the risk of HPV infection and the subsequent development of oropharyngeal cancer.
Cancer of the oropharynx – the area connecting the larynx with the soft palate, or palatine curtain – develops extremely rapidly and aggressively, is diagnosed at late stages due to the invisibility of the primary symptoms and at the same time affects men rather than women. Most often, the tumor is formed in the tonsillar region (58%), less often – in the root of the tongue (28%), the soft palate (10%) and the posterior wall of the oropharynx (4%).
Although this type of cancer is quite rare (0.7% of men and 0.09% of women in Russia), it causes high mortality among patients. Among the causes of development are standard smoking and alcohol abuse, heredity and weakened immunity, as well as caries, poor oral hygiene, addiction to spicy food, old age and diseases of the respiratory system.
In addition, the likelihood of oropharyngeal cancer may be affected by human papillomavirus (HPV), the main methods of transmission of which are vaginal, oral or anal sex. The work of otolaryngologists from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland, USA), published in the journal Cancer (Drake et al., Timing, number, and type of sexual partners associated with risk of oropharyngeal cancer), is devoted to this connection.
According to their data, which confirmed some previous assumptions, oral sex with more than ten different partners was associated with a 4.3-fold increased risk of oropharyngeal cancer. Experts came to these results after conducting a behavioral survey of 163 people with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer and 345 without it (control group) from 2013 to 2018.
In addition, the likelihood of pathology, especially in the area of the base of the tongue and lingual tonsils, was influenced by the age at which the respondent began to engage in oral sex (the risk increased by 1.8 times if it happened at 18), or if the partner was older (1.7 times) or had an extramarital affair (1.6 times). "Our study adds more nuances to understanding how people become infected with HPV and develop oropharyngeal cancer associated with this infection," said one of the authors of the article, Gypsiamber D'Souza, professor of epidemiology. "This suggests that the risk of infection is not only related to the number of "oral" sexual partners: the duration of oral sex and the type of partner also affect the risk."
Scientists recalled that only one infected partner is enough for infection, while other people who also had casual sexual relations either do not get sick or are cured of HPV in time. In addition, it confirms the need for early screening and vaccination to prevent papillomavirus-mediated cancer.
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