Oral Sex and its Link to Cancer

Imagine somebody having a seemingly normal sore throat, going to the doctor and discovering that it is not the common cold but rather Stage 2 cancer on the tonsil. Perhaps this was one of those pack-a-day smokers or somebody a bit older who smoked heavily in their early years? Not in this case. Thirty eight year old waitress Teresa Dillon says, “People think the face of oral cancer is a 70-year-old man who’s been chewing tobacco and drinking whiskey all his life, but the face of oral cancer now is — it’s me, a young woman, healthy, nonsmoking, fit.” What makes this case even more surprising is that her physicians have theorized it may have been the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus that may have caused the cancer. 

Researchers from John Hopkins have discovered that between the years 1973 and 2004 the number of oral cancer cases that have ties to HPV amongst patients in their 40s has gone up almost 100%. In fact, according to the American Cancer Society, of the almost 35,000 cases of oral cancer today, nearly 40% of those have ties to HPV. States Dr. Robert Haddad, head and neck surgeon, “These are patients that are young. They are in their 30s and 40s. They are nonsmokers, and they don’t drink alcohol excessively. And every time we look we are able to find HPV-16 in their tissue, in the biopsy specimen.” HPV is contracted by having direct contact with the source and it causes the virus to attach to the source of contact; thus, HPV does not actually pass through the blood. Instead, proteins within HPV wreak havoc on healthy cells in that area. These once-healthy cells find themselves without the capacity to repair the damage and they begin to replicate uncontrollably. Researchers have made the natural leap to deduce that HPV is found in the mouths and throats of these patients due to oral sex or even mouth-to-mouth contact, and the only way to clear up HPV is with drug treatment. 

Further research has found that both men and women are at risk for oral cancer due to HPV, but the risk is approximately 35% more likely for men. Engaging in risky sex, especially having sex with many partners, makes contracting HPV much more likely; however, Dr. Maura Gillison who works at the John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center states, “That doesn’t mean it’s a magic number. Unfortunately, it only takes exposure to one infected partner to actually acquire the infection.” What makes these cases even more frightening is that much of today’s youth feel that oral sex is a “safe” and less risky alternative to vaginal sex, according to a recent study found in the Journal of Pediatrics. Not surprisingly, contracting the virus usually occurs as a young adult. Haddad states, “I think it’s obvious right now to really say that oral sex is not a safe way of having sex and it could have consequences.” After all, we don’t really see many media outlets or newspaper articles talking about the high risk of oral sex as we do with vaginal sex. Today Teresa Dillon is in remission from her cancer and she only wishes she knew as a teenager what she knows now. From someone who has been there, she warns other teenagers, “You have to be careful. Know who you’re with and you have to take precautions. You need to educate yourself. You need to know what’s going on.”