Having oral sex with more than five partners is risky for men
(Mirror Daily, United States) – The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a lot more dangerous than many people think, so we should always take all the measures of precaution against it. Oral sex is one of the main activities which put us at risk of getting HPV, and it seems the risk is higher for men. If they have more partners with whom they practice oral sex, their chances of developing neck and head cancer significantly increase.
HPV can easily be transmitted through oral sex, but a recent research suggests men are much more at risk than women. Therefore, having more than five partners can significantly increase the risk of oropharyngeal cancer. The risk gets higher if these men are also smokers. As a comparison, the chances of developing cancer associated with HPV are smaller for non-smokers, women, or for those who had performed oral sex on less than five partners.
There are many types of HPV existent, but only three of them put people at risk of cancer, namely cervical or oropharyngeal cancer. At the moment, cervical cancer is a lot more widespread, but doctors think the disease of the head and neck will take over by 2020.
Oral sex is one of the main risk factors for neck cancer
Therefore, they are trying to make people aware of the factors which increase their risk. This way, they can be aware of who needs screening, and increase the chances of discovering any cancer cases while still in the early stages. By doing this, the chances of survival get higher.
For this study, published in the journal Annals of Oncology, researchers analyzed a number of 13,089 people with ages between 20 and 69. They looked at their chances of developing oropharyngeal cancer, and analyzed their behaviors which might have influenced this risk.
This is how they found out the risk among women remained more or less the same, no matter how many oral sex partners they had. In men, the risk was also low if they had less than five partners. Then, the risk gradually increased as the number of partners increased, as well as if they smoked.
Image Source: Air Force Medical Service