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 12,800 new head and neck cancers in the UK every year and around 71,100 in the US.
Since the early 1990s, 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.
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
Pop star Katie Perry recently admitted to the act on the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast
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.
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 150 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
The HPV vaccine – which is offered to all 12- and 13-year-old school children – more than halved rates of head and neck cancers, according to a new study
Doctors have found that oral sex is the biggest risk factors for this type of cancer — outpacing smoking, alcohol consumption and an unhealthy diet.
This is because the acts can lead to an HPV infection at the back of the throat or near the tonsil.
Oropharyngeal cancers affect men more than women however it isn’t clear whether or not cunnilingus — oral sex performed on a woman — is riskier in terms of HPV transmission — than fellatio — oral sex performed on a man.
Research shows the overwhelming majority of (85.4 per cent) and women (83.2 per cent) perform oral sex during intimacy.
Pop star Katy Perry recently admitted to the act.
The ‘Firework’ singer, who is married to British actor Orlando Bloom, told the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast: ‘If I come downstairs and the kitchen is clean, and you’ve done it all, and you’ve done all the dishes, and you’ve closed all the pantry doors, you better be ready to get your d**k sucked.’
HPV has been shown to increase risk of several cancers including cervical, mouth, anal, penile and vaginal.
Hollywood legend Michael Douglas revealed in 2013 that his mouth cancer diagnosis was likely to have been caused by performing oral sex.
The Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct star, now 79, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 54, was successfully treated and and still cancer free.
There is a vaccine for HPV. It is more than 80 percent effective and available in much of the developed world.
It is a two-dose vaccine for children between ages 11 and 12. The shots come 12 months apart.
For people who missed that window, a three-dose shot is available to people 15 to 26.
The vaccine has been offered to girls in England and Wales since September 2008 before being widened to include boys in 2019.
But the jab doesn’t just help prevent cervical cancer, it has also proved effective slashing rates of head and neck cancers.
Hollywood legend Michael Douglas revealed in 2013 that his mouth cancer diagnosis was likely to have been caused by performing oral sex. Pictured above with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2021.
Rates have dropped from 6.3 cases to 2.8 cases per 100,000 men, according to a study involving more than 5 million men and women in the United States.
Commenting on the news that presenter Jamie Theakston has been diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer after fans spotted a change in his voice, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, Professor Peter Johnson said: ‘While any cancer diagnosis is daunting, it is really positive that Jamie’s has been picked up early.
‘Talking about cancer and how to spot signs and symptoms helps save lives, as detecting cancer early gives people the best chance of successful treatment.
‘One in two of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetime — but thanks to continued progress, more cancers are now being diagnosed at an early stage than ever before and survival rates are at an all-time high, so I would encourage anyone to visit their GP if they have worrying symptoms, and to take up screening appointments when they receive them.’