According to a recent study, oral $ex has become a leading risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, surpassing smoking and alcohol.
This type of cancer affects the area at the tonsils and back of the throat and has become more common than cervical cancer in the US and UK.
Dr. Hisham Mehanna from the University of Birmingham has highlighted the rise of throat cancer in the West, calling it an “epidemic.”
The prevailing theory is that most people are able to clear HPV infections, but a small number of individuals with a defect in their immune system are unable to do so.
In these cases, the virus can replicate continuously and integrate into the host’s DNA, causing cells to become cancerous.
Those with multiple $exu@l partners are at higher risk, with those having six or more lifetime oral-$ex partners being 8.5 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer.
Despite around 80% of adults in the UK having practiced oral $ex at some point in their lives, only a small number of people develop oropharyngeal cancer.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
