Kissing Has Now Overtaken Smoking As The Leading Cause Of Head And Neck Cancers - Royal Darwin Hospital, Dr Mahiban Thomas Warns

A VIRUS responsible for a “tsunami” of head and neck cancer cases can be passed on through something as innocent as a French kiss. Head of Maxillofacial and Head and Neck Surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Dr Mahiban Thomas, said human papilloma virus (HPV) had overtaken smoking and drinking as the major risk factor for developing head and neck ­cancers.

“This infection basically occurs with sexual contact,” Dr Thomas said. “High-risk behaviours are oral sex, multiple kissing partners, and more recently there are reports even ‘petting’ can lead to infection.”

 

Dr Thomas said the risk of developing a head and neck cancer if infected by this virus in the oropharynx was over 250 times that of someone without the infection. “If someone has kissed in excess of six people their risk of contracting HPV is higher, or if someone has kissed in excess of nine people the risk is significantly higher again,” he said.

Patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers were usually young, rarely drank and never smoked, Dr Thomas said. “They present at the fourth decade of life, a full 30 years before the traditional cancer would usually occur,” he said.

 

HPV has long been the known cause of most cervical cancers. “Gynaecologists have been dealing with HPV a lot longer and know a lot more about it than us ... more research in this area is required, what we can tell you is this (HPV) is causing a tsunami for us,”

Dr Thomas said. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (cancers of the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils) is now a huge burden around the world — roughly 14,000 throat-cancer cases are diagnosed every year in the US, about 70 per cent of which are related to HPV.

 

Today marks World Head and Neck Cancer Day and Dr Thomas said greater awareness about HPV and its impact on head and neck cancers was important, especially for young people. “There is an attitude, particularly in our younger generations, that oral sex is safe because you can’t get ­pregnant,” he said.

 

“Territorians need to be aware that drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco or marijuana and oral sex and kissing multiple people can increase your risk significantly.” The good news is the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, developed by Australia’s Professor Ian Frazer, has been available for more than 10 years in ­Australia. The Territory’s rates of head and neck cancers are well above the Australian average — and it is particularly high in ­indigenous males. Source; ntnews.com.