Oral sex has emerged as a key risk factor for throat cancer in the United States and United Kingdom, as per a new study. The study stated that oral sex had prompted an increase in a specific type of throat cancer called oropharyngeal cancer, which impacts the back of the throat and specific part of the tonsils.
"Over the past two decades, there has been a rapid increase in throat cancer in the West, to the extent that some have called it an epidemic," Dr Hisham Mehanna from the University of Birmingham stated in the journal "The Conversation".
Dr Mehanna wrote in the journal that another key factor that is triggering the rise in throat cancer cases was the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV). The virus spreads through vaginal, oral and anal sex with someone who is infected.
"HPV is sexually transmitted. For oropharyngeal cancer, the main risk factor is the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex," he wrote.
The positive news is that a vaccine is available for HPV, which is 80 per cent effective and is available in different developed countries, globally. As per the National Health Service- UK's leading health organisation-approximately 8300 people had been diagnosed with throat cancer every year in the country.
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