That's right, oral sex is leading to a large increase in head and neck cancers. The good news though is that there is a vaccine that can prevent the slow growing, but potentially dangerous tumors.
The bad news is that some people are pushing a narrative that proclaims the vaccine can be or is dangerous.
Luckily the tumors are slow growing taking decades to develop and 80%-95% of such cancers can be cured.
Still when a simple vaccine will prevent the disorder, it seems crazy not to push for vaccinating young men instead of just young women (or anyone who hasn't received the vaccine at an earlier age.
Michelle Bachmann very publicly called the HPV vaccine dangerous and said one woman claimed to her that an inoculation of vaccine for the virus caused mental retardation in her daughter.
Similar claims have been made of other vaccines (focusing on the use of Mercury for preservation). It should be noted, though, that most doctors claim the compounds used in shots for children are safe.
Both young women and young men or should be vaccinated as they are both vulnerable to the disease. Now they might find the impetus to do so.
(The HPV virus grows in moist warm places. With the high rate of circumcision among male babies in the US, dangerous HPV growth was thought to be unlikely to happen among that population. Unfortunately or not, the mouth and throat regions provide an ideal alternative site for the disease to develop. Some people think the double whammy of vaccinating both sexes should decrease the incidence of HPV cancers among the entire population.)
A report at NY Daily News has more complete details on the HPV oropharyngeal cancer connection. (Some of the information in post above comes from other reports.).
HPV link brings increase in oropharyngeal cancers, involving the head and neck
