Oral sex could cause throat cancer

• April 19, 2024

Although it is an activity with increasing popularity among adolescents, oral sex with multiple couples could have a high risk and generate throat cancer due to infection with HPV, according to recent studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Scientists found that people who had oral sex with at least 6 different people, they have a 9 times higher risk of developing throat cancer , compared to those that did not. Oral sex is not the culprit in itself, but the human papilloma virus , which can be spread from person to person during sexual intercourse , including oral sex.

The study of 300 volunteers indicates that those infected with HPV, were 32 times more likely to develop this type of oral cancer that those who were not infected, published the magazine TIME. The results indicate that people who had cancer had two important risk factors: smoke (3 times larger) or take alcohol (2.5 times larger).

THE HPV usually attacks more to the cervix of women, but the Cancer throat usually occurs more in men.

The human papilloma virus It is common and there are many types, but not in all cases causes cancer. If a person has had oral sex with another healthy person without HPV, they are not at risk of developing cancer.