Dental News - HPV-linked cancer most commonly found in oral cavity

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 18. September 2018

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ATLANTA, U.S.: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most commonly sexually transmitted infections and a known cause of cervical cancer, as well as some vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal and oropharyngeal cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the last especially has become the most common site of HPV-linked cancer in the U.S. in the 17 years from 1999 through 2015.

In a recent report released by the CDC, it was stated that the rate of cervical cancer dropped by 1.6 percent per year overall during that period. Meanwhile, the oropharyngeal cancer rate increased by 2.8 percent per year among men and 0.6 percent per year among women. To assess HPV-related cancer rates, the CDC used data from population-based cancer registries that participate in programs of the CDC and the National Cancer Institute. Together, the registries cover almost 97.8 percent of the U.S. population.

Overall, the count of new HPV-related cancer cases swelled from 30,115 in 1999 to 43,371 in 2015, the report authors found. The 2015 number represented a rate of 12.1 cases per 100,000 people, up from 11.2 per 100,000 in 1999. Cervical cancer was the most common type of HPV-linked cancer in 1999, with 13,125 cases, while oropharyngeal cancer cases numbered 9,375, with 74 percent of them in men. By 2015, oropharyngeal cancer cases outnumbered cervical cases by 18,917 to 11,788, with 82 percent of the oropharyngeal cases in males.

The CDC said that changing sexual behaviors may have contributed to the increase in oropharyngeal and anal cancers. The report states: “Unprotected oral sex and receptive anal sex are risk factors for HPV infection. White men have the highest number of lifetime oral sex partners and report first performing oral sex at a younger age compared with other racial/ethnic groups; these risk factors could be contributing to a higher rate of oropharyngeal SCC [squamous cell carcinoma] among white men than other racial/ethnic groups.”

The report, titled “Trends in human papillomavirus–associated cancers—United States, 1999–2015,” was published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Aug. 24, 2018.

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