Cancer Due to Oral Sex?

Michael Douglas recently said that he contracted cancer due to HPV transmitted during oral sex. We spoke to experts to find out more...

Ever since Michael Douglas blamed his illness on oral sex, the HPV virus that could be a reason for the cancer has become a talking point. Here's a lowdown on the same:

What is HPV? Can it really cause cancer?

Dr Ashish Bakshi, consultant medical oncologist, says, "The Human Papilloma Virus or HPV, that is also responsible for cervical cancer, is transmitted during oral genital sex and may lead to oral cancer. This is more common in the Western countries, but in the last few years we have seen a few cases here also."

Dr Rajendra Badwe, oncologist, adds, "HPV is quite high in the general population, but a very small percentage get oral cancer. Normally, sexual transmission of the HPV leads to cervical cancer in women."

Is it common in Mumbai?

Dr Badwe says, "Micheal Douglas claims that oral sex caused tongue cancer. I cannot discount this, but it is a hypothesis that needs to be proved. In our country, we have a lot of oral cancer patients, much more than the US and Western countries. But our oral cancer are all tobacco-related and some due to alcohol. We haven't had many HPV-related oral cancer patients. We need a large study to prove this. In the absence of tobacco and alcohol abuse, less than 5% get oral cancer and that may or may not be due to oral sex."

 

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