Oral sex and smoking increase men's risk of head and neck cancer

Men who smoke and have five or more partners with whom they perform oral sex have the highest risk of developing a type of head and neck cancer that is triggered by exposure to the human papilloma virus – known as HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.

That's according to research published in the leading cancer journal, Annals of Oncology.

However, the study found that only 0.7% of men will ever develop oropharyngeal cancer in their lifetimes. The risk was much lower among women, anyone who did not smoke, and people who had less than five oral sex partners in their lifetimes.

There are over 100 different kinds of HPV but only a few are known to cause cancer; infection with HPV 16 or 18 is already known to trigger most cervical cancer, and HPV16 also causes most oropharyngeal cancer. The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer is predicted to overtake cervical cancer in the USA by 2020.