Oral sex may lead to throat cancer

For the longest time, people have assumed oral sex to be safer than regular intercourse. In a recent report by Contact Music, actress Sharon Stone was quoted saying she believed oral sex was a hundred times safer. The bad news is, all of them, Miss Stone included, may be wrong.

A report published in The Washington Post says the sexually transmitted virus responsible for causing cervical cancer also increases the risk of certain types of throat cancer among people infected through oral sex. Also published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study proved what had been suggested in the past, that those infected with the human papilloma virus were 32 times more likely to develop one form of oral cancer than those not infected with the virus.

The report also points out that the number of partners affects the risk factor. Subjects who had 1-5 oral-sex partners – male or female -- were 3.8 times as likely as those with fewer partners to have cancer. Those who had more than 6 partners were 8.6 times at risk.

However, according to a BBC News report, additional studies are required to reach definitive conclusions about the findings.

The report may help explain why cases of oral cancer have been on the rise recently, particularly among non-smokers or heavy drinkers – long assumed to be most at risk. It also puts to rest many misconceptions about oral sex, and its supposed lower risk.

For those advocating the use of a vaccine against human papilloma virus, the report will be very welcome. As oral cancer affects both sexes, calls for vaccination could soon be on the rise. In America, a debate has been raging for a while about whether the vaccination of girls should be made mandatory. Those opposing the idea believe this vaccination could lead to an increase in sexual activity. They add that the vaccine hasn't been tested enough either.