Posted on 12/12/2002 8:13:17 AM PST by Sangamon Kid
Oral sex linked to cancer of the mouth
By Sarah-Kate Templeton
New research to be published next year will provide powerful evidence that oral sex can cause mouth cancer.
Doctors who first suggested a form of mouth cancer could be linked to the same sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer have found more data to back their controversial theory. Two years ago, the group from Johns Hopkins University in the US published a paper suggesting the human papilloma virus (HPV), the cause of most cervical cancer, can also cause mouth cancer.
A new study, to be published in six months' time, will confirm this research, according to Dr Maura Gillison, an oncologist and member of the Johns Hopkins group. The news comes as Scottish mouth cancer experts are calling for research to be done here into the suspected link with oral sex.
David Soutar, president of the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists, said: 'We were involved in a pilot study which suggested that this is certainly something that we should look into.
'It should be investigated further, particularly in people who don't have any of the risk factors such as smoking and drinking.
'One of the things that has interested me over the past 15 years is the increase in the number of women with oral cancer. It used to be five men to one woman but it is now about two men to one woman. What we do not know is whether this is all down to smoking.
'When I see the increase in women with oral cancer I think oral sex has to be one of the causes. We also have to find out why the age group suffering from oral cancer is becoming younger. Ideally, we would want to look at the under-45s.'
Mr Soutar, a consultant plastic surgeon at Canniesburn Hospital and the Nuffield Hospital, both in Glasgow, says it is difficult to find people willing to discuss their sexual behaviour, but says we have to consider the possibility sexually transmitted viruses are one of the causes.
Finding out whether HPV is a cause of mouth cancer is all the more pressing now that new treatments are being developed to fight cervical cancer. A vaccine to stop cervical cancer could become available within five years and doctors believe a similar vaccine could protect against some oral cancers.
The vaccine works by boosting the immune system against strains of HPV. The vaccine against cervical cancer will be targeted at girls of about 12 or 13, before they become sexually active and vulnerable to HPV.
But Soutar warns that, unlike cervical cancer where most forms of the disease are caused by HPV, the sexually transmitted virus could only be responsible for less than 20% of mouth cancer cases. He said targeting a vaccine would therefore be more difficult.
'If we could identify the sub-group this would be of benefit. We know smoking and drinking is probably the cause in 80% of cases so we couldn't use it in the same way as the vaccine against cervical cancer. This would only be a small proportion of those who have oral cancer.'
In the past decade in Scotland there has been an almost 50% increase in oral cancer among under-45s, and in the last 40 years a fourfold increase in younger patients suffering from it. Oral cancer affects 3000 people in the UK each year and the problem is worse north of the border.
www.omfsaboutface.co.uk/ aware.htm
www.cancerresearchuk.org
I thought he was a tenor?
I hope she was grateful, veru grateful....
Last time I checked Dante wasn't an author of any Biblical book. In fact, Inferno was a satire. Maybe this was lost on you?
You seem to be of the opinion that sexual intercourse is strictly for procreation is that correct? Then by definition coitus interruptous is a corruption of the act and is therfore sinfull as well. And what if fellatio is performed as a stimulant and not as a complete act unto itself? would it be ok in this case if "formal" intercourse were the end result? Is manual maniplutation also sinful if it ends in ejaculation? I suppose using breasts for "deviant" purposes is really heinous then, eh? I never understood how anything a man and woman could do together is considered unnatural. It seems to come pretty naturally to most of us.
,,, what a winning line!
YOU FOOL!
Never admit to understanding them, or "getting it," no matter how gradually. As soon as you do that, they change the rules and that screws it up for everyone else. Now, quick, say that you misspoke, that you aren't getting the hang of anything - that you were talking about shaving, or mowing the yard or something. There may still be time to cover this up!!!
Probably should, you know, cause you have .005% chance of getting oral cancer . . .
It's those folks that a few sheets with 'Two Holes' cut into them that may have a problem....
Nah - I'm fine for now.
Want to hear some silly stories from the mail order pharmacy I work at??
No. Expression of marital love and procreation together are the purpose sexual intercourse. My position is that of the Catholic Church. I recommend you read Humanae Vitae. In addition, while in many ways I am a critic of John Paul II, his writings on the theology of sex are extraordinary.
Then by definition coitus interruptous is a corruption of the act and is therfore sinfull as well.
Yes. Traditionally it has been called Onanism, after a biblical patriarch whom God executed for engaging in it.
And what if fellatio is performed as a stimulant and not as a complete act unto itself? would it be ok in this case if "formal" intercourse were the end result?
I'm not sure.
Is manual maniplutation also sinful if it ends in ejaculation?
Yes, masturbation is sinful.
I suppose using breasts for "deviant" purposes is really heinous then, eh?
I'm not sure what you mean by "deviant purposes."
I never understood how anything a man and woman could do together is considered unnatural. It seems to come pretty naturally to most of us.
Do you consider homosexual sodomy to be unnatural? A lot of homosexuals claim it to come natuarlly to them.
Are you saying here that if it isn't fun it is sinful??? Then if one enjoyed it it would be OK???
BTW I know women who enjoy very much every aspect of being a woman, with gusto, and take great pride in their abilities. I am not making that up either. In a different setting than FR I could even give exact quotes. I guess it just comes down to who one knows (or what they'll admit to).
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