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March 12, 2008, 9:37 pm
Flag as Inappropriate ewills  

Some head and neck cancers have just been linked to sexual activity, marijuana use, and HPV. The news comes via John Hopkins University and Maura Gillison PhD.

Here are some of the things they learned.

Head and neck cancers that were positive for HPV 16 were associated with having more oral sex partners and smoking more marijuana.

Head and neck cancers that were negative for HPV 16 weren't linked to sex or marijuana. Instead, they were tied to smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and having poor oral hygiene.

Because the study was observational, it's not clear if those risk factors caused cancer.

Based on the findings, Gillison's team argues that HPV 16-negative and HPV 16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinomas should be considered two different types of cancer.

The study appears in Tuesday's advance online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Shhhh!!!

Very interesting...I guess they'll have to update the sex-ed talk!

What is HPV? Is it aids. What an interesting find, but I don't think it will cause me to change anything.

I had heard about this for the marijuana note, but not for oral sex - so how can we fix that? Some notes below for help in understanding this better.

Types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, and 68 are "high-risk" sexually transmitted HPVs.

HPV - Human papillomavirus. A member of a family of viruses that can cause abnormal tissue growth (for example, genital warts) and other changes to cells. Infection with certain types of HPV increases the risk of developing cervical cancer. Also called human papillomavirus.

Thank you Hect. I think they have a new shot out for human papillomavirus now days. I have heard that it only effects women.