Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers led by cancer virus expert Maura Gillison, M.D., Ph.D., have conclusive evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) causes some throat cancers in both men and women.

Dr. Gillison first reported the link between HPV and specific throat cancers in 2000 which supported previous findings of other investigators.

While consistent use of condom will reduce the risk, the strong link between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer drove researchers to understand which people's behaviours put them at highest risk.

Regardless of tobacco and alcohol use, oral HPV infection has been found to be the strongest risk factor for the disease.

Guess which topped the list of sex practices that greatly increase the risk of an HPV-linked cancer like oropharyngeal cancer?

Having multiple oral sex partners!

[HPV-linked cancers currently include oral, anal, cervical, vaginal, penile, and vulvar cancers.]

According to the study's investigators:

Oral sex, including both fellatio and cunnilingus, is the main mode of transit for oral HPV infection, although mouth-to-mouth transmission remains possible and was not ruled out by the current study.

HPVs also can be transmitted by skin contact and are found in the mucus of the genital tract, and in saliva, urine, and semen. Both men and women contract the ubiquitous virus in equal numbers, which is believed to have infected a large proportion of people worldwide at some point in their lives.

Most HPV infections clear with little or no symptoms, but a small percentage of men and women who acquire cancer-causing or "high-risk" strains, such as HPV 16, may develop a cancer.

You can read the full report at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center for more details or you can read the full article reported in the May 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.