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The Daily OrangePartying's unsexy effect
Combination of oral sex, smoking, drinking can lead to mouth cancer
By Catherine Basham
Posted: 9/12/07, 10:20 PM EST Section: News
D'Souza added it's important to realize that it can take 10 years or more to develop a cancer from an HPV infection, so the data reflects sex habits of people 10 years ago.
Freshman John Canlas said he is not surprised by the study's findings.
"During oral sex, there's a transmission of bodily fluids," he said. "You have to be a completely oblivious person to think that nothing could be transmitted."
There are more than 100 types of HPV, but only 30 can be transmitted sexually, and only 10 can lead to types of cancer, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Only a very small proportion of those infected with persistent strains of "high-risk" HPV ever develop cancer.
"It's important to know that HPV is a very, very common STD, and many people become infected during their lifetime, but a vast majority of those people clear the infection themselves with no problem," D'Souza said. "Most people who have HPV will not develop cancer."
During oral sex, HPV is established in the squamous cells, located in the upper layer of tissue in one's mouth or throat. Cuts or trauma - which can be caused by drinking and smoking - make it more like for a person to contract the disease.
About 20 million people are currently infected with HPV, with 6.2 million new cases diagnosed each year. Fifty percent of sexually active men and 80 percent of women will have an HPV infection at some point in their lives, according to the CDC.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine Gardasil, which protects recipients against four types of HPV. Previously, many experts believed only women needed to be vaccinated because they were susceptible to cervical cancer. But as a result of the new study's findings, opinions may shift because oral cancer affects men and women indiscriminately.
Last fall, SU Health Services began administering Gardasil to interested students. SU was one of only a few schools that would vaccinate men upon request.
Health Services declined to comment for this article.
Freshman John Canlas said he is not surprised by the study's findings.
"During oral sex, there's a transmission of bodily fluids," he said. "You have to be a completely oblivious person to think that nothing could be transmitted."
There are more than 100 types of HPV, but only 30 can be transmitted sexually, and only 10 can lead to types of cancer, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Only a very small proportion of those infected with persistent strains of "high-risk" HPV ever develop cancer.
"It's important to know that HPV is a very, very common STD, and many people become infected during their lifetime, but a vast majority of those people clear the infection themselves with no problem," D'Souza said. "Most people who have HPV will not develop cancer."
During oral sex, HPV is established in the squamous cells, located in the upper layer of tissue in one's mouth or throat. Cuts or trauma - which can be caused by drinking and smoking - make it more like for a person to contract the disease.
About 20 million people are currently infected with HPV, with 6.2 million new cases diagnosed each year. Fifty percent of sexually active men and 80 percent of women will have an HPV infection at some point in their lives, according to the CDC.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine Gardasil, which protects recipients against four types of HPV. Previously, many experts believed only women needed to be vaccinated because they were susceptible to cervical cancer. But as a result of the new study's findings, opinions may shift because oral cancer affects men and women indiscriminately.
Last fall, SU Health Services began administering Gardasil to interested students. SU was one of only a few schools that would vaccinate men upon request.
Health Services declined to comment for this article.
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