Millions warned against oral sex as awareness of silent killer plummets

Oral sex is a practice that many people indulge in. But you might be shocked to learn that it’s associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which has been linked to certain types of cancer.

The WHO estimates that there are 600 million cases of HPV worldwide. It is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), and almost all sexually active people get HPV at some point in their lives.

Although HPV is normally harmless, it can lead to genital warts, cervical cancer, and has been linked to anal, oral, and penile cancers.

HPV awareness is low

Academics at the American Association for Cancer Research have expressed concerns about the lack of awareness about the disease. At its annual meeting in April, members pointed out that only two-thirds of people know about HPV.

A survey of 2,000 adults, carried out between 2014 and 2020, found low awareness of HPV and its links to certain types of cancer. And alarmingly, knowledge about the disease seemed to decline throughout the study.

Among those who had heard of HPV, 70.2% knew it was linked to cervical cancer. But for other types of cancer, awareness was much lower.

Awareness of the link between HPV and anal cancer fell from 27.9% to 27.4% between 2014 and 2020. Awareness of oral cancer fell from 31.2% to 29.5%, while awareness penile cancer fell from 30.3% to 28.4%.

“Given the links between HPV-associated cancer awareness and HPV vaccination, it is important that we increase awareness of this link, as this could help increase vaccination rates,” said Dr. Eric Adjei Boakye, assistant researcher at the Department of Health Sciences. at Henry Ford Health in Detroit.

What is HPV?

Human papillomavirus is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to Dr. Hana Patel, a general practitioner and women’s health specialist.

The virus is most often transmitted during vaginal or anal sex with someone who has the virus. However, it can also be spread through close skin-to-skin contact during sex (including oral sex) and sharing sex toys.

What are the symptoms in women?

Dr Patel told Superdrug Online Doctor how the absence of symptoms can mean HPV often goes unnoticed – however, it can be detected in a smear test.

External symptoms may be bumps around your genitals (genital warts), in which case you should go to your GP for a check-up.

When it comes to treating your HPV diagnosis, Dr. Patel said, “There is no direct treatment for the HPV virus because it can lie dormant in the body, but there are treatments for HPV problems. health that HPV can cause. »

The body generally eliminates the HPV virus within two years and only some cases cause symptoms or develop into cancer.

“Although HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, women who develop high-risk lesions caused by HPV have only a 5 to 15 percent chance of developing cervical cancer. uterus, which can take between 8 and 10 years to develop,” adds Dr Patel.

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