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http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54B61920090512
It's been very frustrating reporting on all the latest HPV information because so many articles leave out just enough information to raise more questions than they answer.
But this one specifically addresses how HPV is possibly transmitted orally.
It has been an unanswered question whether HPV that causes throat and mouth cancers is transmitted through oral sex only or also through kissing. According to this article, open-mouth kissing *does* pose a significant risk factor in the prevalance of HPV in oral tissue.
Now remember everyone, this is a very small study and still requires more research. Also, although oral cancers have a lower success rate because of it's late discovery, the chances of getting oral cancer is *still* quite low, and you can reduce your risk by quitting smoking, even with the HPV-caused cancer.
But this article is right on the heels of another one that says girls are getting HPV prior to coitarche (like, age 4) and adjusted for the possibility of sexual abuse.
Which means that HPV is even more ridiculously easy to catch than even those of us who have been saying so for years ever knew. Which, IMO, should remove it from the STD list, since it appears to be nearly as easy to catch as a cold. Unfortunately, colds don't have a link to causing cancer, so this should still be taken seriously, but the stigma of having an "STD" really needs to be re-evaluated, particularly in light of recent evidence that shows this particular STD (and herpes too) can be passed to people through contact, but not necessarily sexual contact.
It's been very frustrating reporting on all the latest HPV information because so many articles leave out just enough information to raise more questions than they answer.
But this one specifically addresses how HPV is possibly transmitted orally.
It has been an unanswered question whether HPV that causes throat and mouth cancers is transmitted through oral sex only or also through kissing. According to this article, open-mouth kissing *does* pose a significant risk factor in the prevalance of HPV in oral tissue.
Now remember everyone, this is a very small study and still requires more research. Also, although oral cancers have a lower success rate because of it's late discovery, the chances of getting oral cancer is *still* quite low, and you can reduce your risk by quitting smoking, even with the HPV-caused cancer.
But this article is right on the heels of another one that says girls are getting HPV prior to coitarche (like, age 4) and adjusted for the possibility of sexual abuse.
Which means that HPV is even more ridiculously easy to catch than even those of us who have been saying so for years ever knew. Which, IMO, should remove it from the STD list, since it appears to be nearly as easy to catch as a cold. Unfortunately, colds don't have a link to causing cancer, so this should still be taken seriously, but the stigma of having an "STD" really needs to be re-evaluated, particularly in light of recent evidence that shows this particular STD (and herpes too) can be passed to people through contact, but not necessarily sexual contact.
