According to new research, people who have had ten or more oral sex partners are 4.3 times more likely to develop human papilloma virus-related cancer of the mouth and throat.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University also found that having oral sex at a younger age (and with more partners) also increases the risk of cancer caused by HPV.
“Our research helps patients and doctors answer the question,‘ Why did I develop HPV-related cancer ?, ’said Dr. Virginia Drake, co-author of the study, at UPI.
“The risk of infection is not only related to the number of lifelong oral sex partners, as the timing of oral sex and the type of partner also play an important role,” said Drake, head and neck surgeon. Johns Hopkins.
In the United States, just over 7 percent of all adults ages 18 to 69 have HPV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the CDC, approximately 45,000 people (55% of them women) are diagnosed with HPV-related cancer each year.
The Baltimore Hospital team surveyed 163 adults with HPV-related mouth and throat cancer, and 345 without these diseases, about their sexual behaviors.
According to the researchers, having oral sex as a teenager or teenager increased the risk of cancer by 80%. Starting younger and having more partners increased the risk by 180 percent, they added.
Meanwhile, people who had older sexual partners when they were young and those who had extramarital sex were up to 70% more likely to suffer from the disease, according to data cited by UPI.
“People with HPV-associated cancer … have a broad spectrum of sex stories,” Drake said.
“As with all STDs, having new partners presents some risk of infection, but most people who become infected eliminate the infection without developing cancer,” he added.
In a statement, he said: “As the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer continues to increase in the United States, our study offers a contemporary assessment of the risk factors for this disease.
“We’ve discovered additional nuances about how and why some people may develop this cancer, which may help identify those most at risk,” Drake added.