The UK and US are suffering a throat cancer 'epidemic' with more people being diagnosed each year. But doctors aren't just blaming smoking, instead they think oral sex — of all kinds — could be the culprit. It comes as Heart Radio presenter Jamie Theakston, 53, revealed he has stage one laryngeal cancer after listeners had noticed there was something not quite right with his voice.
There's around 12, new head and neck cancers in the UK every year and around 71, in the US. Since the early s, incidence rates of the cancer have increased by more than a third 35 per cent in the UK, Cancer Research says. Doctors say human papillomavirus HPV , a normally harmless virus that is spread sexually and through skin contact, could be behind the rise.
(mh=zbN8tpIjvWve13f9)42684562a.jpg "SEX ESCORT Hammond")
Jamie Theakston revealed he has cancer on Tuesday and said he is taking a break from his Heart Radio job as his co-star Amanda Holden gave a health update. Doctors say Human papillomavirus HPV , a normally harmless virus that is spread sexually and through skin contact, could be behind the rise in head and neck cancers. Dr Hisham Mehanna, from the UK's University of Birmingham, said 70 percent of cases of throat cancer are caused by HPV which has been linked to multiple forms of cancers.
He said people with multiple oral sex partners have an up to nine-fold increased risk of throat cancer, also known as oropharyngeal cancer. He wrote in The Conversation that there has been a 'rapid increasing throat cancer in the west' to the extent some have called 'an epidemic'. Around eight in ten people will carry HPV on their body at some point with around a third of the population infected at any one time, research shows. It is most commonly found on and around the genitals, and usually causes no problems — the virus so considered so harmless, it immune system doesn't naturally try to fight it off.
(mh=Re0CEW5-jY-KxeUL)38880671a.jpg "SEX AGENCY in Hammond")
However for reasons that aren't fully understood, the virus can invade body tissues and trigger cells changes that lead to cancer. There are over types of HPV, but only about 12 can cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk strains that can cause oropharyngeal cancer. This data shows that in the UK cases of throat cancer have been trending upward, just like in the US. Catching the virus has been shown to increase risk of several cancers including cervical, mouth, anal, penile and vaginal.
