My sister has salivary gland cancer and that is what has brought me to this board. I've been seeing more and more posts as I scroll through various topics on the relation of HPV to oral cancer. Is there any definitive research that I can access? I ask because I've been battling cervical dysplasia and have been identified as having high risk HPV. I found a wonderful doc who used natural vitamins and minerals to get my paps back to normal. In the meantime, I'm a freelance article writer and am doing a series of articles on this subject. I just hadn't come across the relation of oral cancer to cervical issues as it relates to HPV. I'm currently waiting on an interview with a doctor and I'd asked only one question in relation to oral sex on this subject. I'm curious if there are studies or if it's such a new issue that there aren't any definitive answers yet? I'm in a 20 year monogomous relationship so this is personally vital to me. If there's something we should or shouldn't be doing, I definitely want to know!

Hi Robin,
Sorry to hear about your sister's diagnosis. I hope that she is being treated at a comprehensive cancer center.

As a starting point for learning more, I would suggest searching the OCF web site for 'HPV'. There is a lot of good information available right on the web site.

For example, one section 'HPV Causes Oral Cancer' (http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/hpv_reports.htm) lists a number of studies related to this virus and its relation to oral cancer. Hope this helps.
Best, Sheldon

Hi Robin,

There was an article in "New Scientist", February 2004, regarding HPV and oral cancer...hope this link works:


http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4712

Cheers!

Tizz

HPV comes and goes in people's bodies, and only a handful of the over 100 strains of it are known to cause malignancies. It is estimated that 40% of the American population has some form of HPV at any given time; no one can guess how many have a malignancy causing strain. Because of the uniqueness of each individual's genetics, there is no clue as to why HPV 16 and 18 will cause oral cancer in some people, and not in others, ditto cervical cancer. This whole area is in its infancy as far as research, even though it has been explored for a long time period. I would not be considering changing my lifestyle over any of this at this time. The whole thing about the new cervical cancer (HPV) vaccine that is exciting, is that in developing countries, which for the most part do not have annual pap test/cervical examinations for women, and where cervical cancer (98% caused by HPV) examinations do not take place routinely - and the cancer is still a very big killer of women, this can now be prevented by vaccinating young women before they become sexually active. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated millions to begin this vaccination program in developing countries. The by product of those vaccinations over the years will likely impact the head and neck cancer world as well, but it will be many years before we know to what extent. An interesting side note is that the extreme religious right in the US, that has taken so much stage lately, is against the use of the vaccine, since they believe that it will encourage young people to engage in sex. This is the same group that is against condoms for the same reasons, and believes that young people will just say no. I don't know about others, but when I was a teenager, my hormones said something other than no

Brian, is that "whole nuther subject" worth exploring in the realm of activism? Or is it too political ? Amy

I am a 22yrs old male.
In response to Robins message I would like to tell my experience about HPV and ask some questions.
First, I believe I got HPV through oral sex, because after that I had no relationship for 8 months until I realized the warts on my genital area. I know it is possible that I got HPV in advance and they came out late but thats what I think. Then I visited a dermatologist, he removed the warts, then six months later they reappeared, I visited the doctor and he removed again. Anyway, couple of weeks ago(which makes 1,5 year after the possible infection), I found some wart-like growth under my tongue, I suspected that they were HPV warts as well. I visited a dentist, and he confirms that the abnormal growths are because of HPV. But he told that HPV does not cause oral cancer, maybe he just didnt want me to worry too much, but this contradicts with the scientific information given in many sources. By the way I have never given somebody oral sex in my life.The dermatologist told me that nobody knows, this 'may' spread even because of not washing the hands properly and etc...

Recently dentist removed the growth under my tongue, and sent it to pathology test when he saw that I was worrying about the cancer. I havent got the results yet but he told me in advance that that test would not reveal the HPV type, danger risk and etc...

Can anyone give me any information about these pathology tests? Does anyone know wheter these tests can diagnose HPV-linked oral cancer?

Thanks.

Yuumu

Thanks all for the answers and great links!

First the HPV which causes genital warts is not one of the versions that causes malignancies, so the doctor is right in this case. Remember that there are over 100 variations of HPV. Testing for HPV in males is not as simple as females, since we don't know where to sample the person. Is it the tonsil, the penis? we just don't know. Women predominantly get the dangerous forms of HPV in association with the cervix, and that is a very small area and easy to sample. When tissues are removed, this is different than a brush biopsy like the PAP smear (the type of testing that works well in women but not in men because of lack of a specific location to sample), and those tissues can be tested for the different strains of HPV. Clearly if you are removing a papilloma (a wart like growth) you are going to find HPV in it. The difficult thing about versions 16 and 18 is that the lesions that they MAY produce, are flat and level with the skin and almost impossible to see. So the answer to your question is can they find it in a tissue sample? Yes. Can we easily screen for it in men? No. And lastly, the kinds, which produce genital warts, are not known to be risky.

Thank you Brian for the informative reply.
I just want to ask one more thing. HPV strains 16 and 18 have 'possible' almost invisible lesions on the skin, is this the same with the oral condition. What kind of lesions do these 16 and 18 HPV cause in the oral cavity? Do you know something about it? Since the growth under my tongue is big, does that mean they are probably not due to 16 and 18?

thanks.

Yuumu