Rise in oropharyngeal cancers linked to HPV
Rates of oropharyngeal cancer have increased by around 50 per cent in the last 20 years, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers at the Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education (InHANSE) at University Hospital, Coventry, suggest that the increase in this type of head and neck cancer could be caused by the transmission of the human papillomavirus (HPV) through oral sex.
According to the study authors, head and neck cancer is the sixth-most common form of cancer in the world, with approximately 640,000 people being diagnosed with the disease each year.
Read the whole article at Cancer Research UK
Reference
- Mehanna, H., Jones, T., Gregoire, V., & Ang, K. (2010). Oropharyngeal carcinoma related to human papillomavirus BMJ, 340 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c1439
Keywords: oropharyngeal cancers, human papilloma virus, HPV
30. 3. 2010 Cancer Research UK
