Oral Sex May Increase Cancer Risk

NEW YORK CITY, NY -- A new study suggests that oral sex increases the risk of transmitting the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cancer in some patients.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore found that people who had a prior HPV infection are up to 32 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal (throat) cancer.

Dr. Maura Gillison, who led the study, said people should not be unduly alarmed.

"People should be reassured that oropharyngeal cancer is relatively uncommon, and the overwhelming majority of people with an oral HPV infection probably will not get throat cancer," Gillison said in a statement.

Oral HPV infection is mainly spread through oral sex, but mouth-to-mouth transmission has not been ruled out, she said.

Some doctors also believe HPV is linked to anal cancer, which is a common cause of death in men with HIV.