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Study reveals lack of awareness about HPV and mouth cancer

2 mins read Oral health and mouth cancer
​A new study investigating awareness of mouth cancer in the UK reveals a startling lack of awareness when it comes to the disease and one of its leading causes, the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Research carried out by the Oral Health Foundation finds as little as three in 20 (15%) British adults recognise HPV, the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection, to be a cause of mouth cancer.

The report also shows more than two in three (67%) are unaware of oral sex increasing a person's mouth cancer risk by sexually transmitting the HPV virus.

During the next decade, HPV is expected to overtake smoking and excessive alcohol consumption as the leading cause of mouth cancer and with many unable to assess their own level of risk, Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation, is concerned this may lead to a growing number of mouth cancers being diagnosed too late.

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