Cars

Despite the active campaign on cancer prevention the incidence of throat cancers in the United States has not dropped in recent years In fact the statistics are even rising in some areas as opposed to the downward trend in other head and neck cancer
Despite the active campaign on cancer prevention the incidence of throat cancers in the United States has not dropped in recent years In fact the statistics are even rising in some areas as opposed to the downward trend in other head and neck cancers that are usually associated with smoking and drinking alcohol
It is being investigated if infections with the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus HPV could be the real cause HPV is a virus that causes infections such as genital warts and most cervical cancers Recently researchers have found that the transmission of HPV through oral sex is a potential cause of throat cancer
Early findings emphasize the importance of research directed at establishing if the newly available HPV vaccine is effective in males This vaccine is considered to be almost 100 effective in preventing cervical infections Thus the medical community and vaccine industry is encouraged to study its role in preventing oral cancer
At present tobacco use and drinking alcohol are ranked as the biggest risk factors for head and neck cancers According to the American Cancer Society about 90 of patients with these sickness either smoke or chew tobacco or have done so in the past and up to 80 of oral cancer patients also drink a lot of alcohol
The newly published analysis of head and neck cancer trends in the US showed that the decline in smoking has led to a decline in most head and neck cancers over the past two decades However throat cancer remains to be the main exception to this trend This is more specifically defined as cancer of the oropharynx which includes the tonsils base of the tongue and soft palate and side and back of the throat
Although these cancers are rare their incidence has remained steady overall while tongue cancer rates among young adults have increased They conclude that this is likely due to HPV infections which could be spread through oral sex
Over the last five years 35 of the throat cancer patients treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center had no history of smoking and that close to 90 of patients who had never smoked showed evidence of oral infections with HPV
The current policy in the US is to recommend HPV vaccine only to young girls aged 11 to 12 years old and for women up to age 26 who have not received it yet Researchers concluded that vaccinating only females against HPV could result in a missed opportunity to prevent throat cancers However in countries like Australia and Mexico the HPV vaccine is being offered even to males though there is still no clinical proof to show that HPV infections in men lead to throat cancer Studies are now under way to find out if the vaccine can protect boys against genital HPV infections
The HPV vaccine could be a very effective protection against cervical cancer and there is a good chance that it will reduce the incidence of other types of HPVpromoted cancers as well said Debbie Saslow PhD of the American Cancer Society But we have no data to confirm that and we wont have any in the near future