Silent killer virus causes oral cancer

[Jellybean]

I saw the following article on Yahoo on the increase in oral cancer rates in the UK and thought members, who may have missed it, might be interested in reading it.

I have a particular interest in such things as I was diagnosed with oral cancer nearly 10 years ago. I was never given a reason for it and simply told that it is normally caused by heavy smoking or/and heavy drinking. I never smoked and I did not regard myself as a heavy drinker having drunk mainly soft drinks during my 20s and 30s. And, in my 40s, I drank moderate amounts of alcohol at the weekends. The тАЬwhy?тАЭ question has never left me despite the passage of time. This is the first time that IтАЩve read an article that points towards an infection of a sexual nature.

Although I note that the article states, тАЬ. . . that sharp rises in the incidence rates of cancers at the base of the tongue (an almost 90% increase) and the tonsil (around a 70% increase) тАУ two areas of the mouth where cancers are more commonly HPV-related.тАЭ My tumour was however on my upper jaw so my particular cancer may still not be sexually related. It is something worth raising with my cancer surgeon when I see him in 2 months time when I am back in the UK.

HPV linked to rise in oral cancers

Oral cancer cases in the UK have risen to more than 6,000 a year for the first time, new figures from Cancer Research UK show.

Experts think an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, transmitted through oral sex, are behind the rise.

Oral cancer rates in the UK have risen by around a quarter in the last 10 years, from around six to eight cases per 100,000 people. Around two thirds of cases occur in men.

Smoking and alcohol are major risk factors for oral cancer. But oral cancers tend to take at least a decade to develop, and smoking rates in the UK have more than halved in the past 30 years.

Experts say that an increase in alcohol consumption by Brits cannot fully explain the rise in oral cancer rates, suggesting other factors are involved.

Up to eight out of 10 people in the UK are infected with HPV at some point in their lives. Many strains of the virus are harmless, and the infections often get better without treatment. However, a few "high-risk" strains, such as HPV-16, can persist and cause cell changes which can develop into cancer.

Experts have noted particularly sharp rises in the incidence rates of cancers at the base of the tongue (an almost 90% increase) and the tonsil (around a 70% increase) тАУ two areas of the mouth where cancers are more commonly HPV-related.

Richard Shaw, an expert in head and neck cancers at the Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre, said: "We have seen a rapid increase in the number of HPV16-positive cases of oral cancer.

"We have also noticed that patients with HPV-related oral cancers tend to be younger, are less likely to be smokers and have better outcomes from treatment than those whose tumours show no evidence of HPV."

Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's worrying to see such a big rise in oral cancer rates. But like many other cancers, if oral cancer is caught early, there is a better chance of successful treatment.

"So it's really important for people to know the signs and symptoms of oral cancer - mainly mouth ulcers that just wonтАЩt heal, any lumps or thickening in the mouth, lips or throat, or red or white patches in the mouth that wonтАЩt go away.

"ItтАЩs not just doctors who have a vital role to play. If youтАЩre worried about any of these symptoms you can see your dentist as well.

"Dentists have an important role to play in spotting oral cancer early and encouraging their patients to take care of their mouths. So make sure you attend regular dental check-ups."

[christianpfc]

This is the first time that IтАЩve read an article that points towards an infection of a sexual nature.
Information about the connecction of oral cancer and oral intercourse has been posted on this board and on gaybuttonthai, and LMTU shared his personal experiences in some posts.

I recently read that doctors in the UK don't write on death certificates that a patient died of smoking, as this has a social stigma; whereas dying from alcoholism is socially acceptable and therefore reported on death certificates. I assume there is a social stigma with oral cancer from oral intercouse as well, that's why your doctor didn't ask you "do you suck cock?".

[Rob33]

Experts think an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, transmitted through oral sex, are behind the rise.



Is there a vaccine or successful treatment of the virus itself? For most people they dont even know they have it or had it, so wonder if a test for it is possible? This is the same virus that can give you genital warts and one variant of the virus genital cancer.

I've read that genital warts can become malignant over time, so best removed, but this is not true! They dont become malignant at all, they may multiply or vanish completely. The HPV virus for genital or oral cancer is completely different to the one that gives you warts. A wart and a malignant growth are two very different things and need to be tested to see what they are, one doesn't become the other.

I dont have genital warts or anything strange in my mouth but I had a tiny clump of cells (wart in this case) on the rim of my upper eyelid, I only noticed it because it was itchy on my eyeball like a tiny grain of sand would be, less than two mm across. It was removed with extraordinary accurate and fine surgical work by an ophthalmologist, I lost the root of and one eye lash in the process as the surgeon nicked the rim of the eye lid to get at the entire root of the wart out. The tiny gauge was then cauterised and the cells with the eye lash attached (shown with great pride under magnification to me by the surgeon) sent off for tests.

I advise people to get these things removed because if left besides from possibly being unsightly when they grow if and when they become irritating to the eye as larger warts removing them is difficult because it will involve taking off a big chunk of your eye lid as this is the only way to stop them re-growing.