HPV: the facts
• There are more than 100 variants of HPV (human papillomavirus). They appear in different parts of the body and manifest themselves in different ways – some cause warts, but the majority are symptomless.
• Some are spread by skin-to-skin contact, while others are typically spread during sex or mucosal contact. When HPV is found in the mouth, it probably got there as a result of oral sex, either genital-oral or even oral-oral.
• HPV is common – if you're a sexually active adult, you've probably had it. By the age of 25, 90% of sexually active people will have been exposed to some form of oral or genital HPV.
• Around 15 types of HPV are linked to increased cancer risk, but it can't be explicitly said to cause any particular cancers. It's a long-term risk factor: over years and decades the risk is increased, rather than overnight.
• It is calculated that between 25% and 35% of oral cancers are HPV-related – meaning that it seems to be involved in 1,500-2,000 diagnoses a year in the UK.
• Overall, HPV-related oral cancers are most common in heterosexual men in their 40s and 50s, same as other cancers (colon, prostate, testicular), since this is the time in when male immune systems begin to slow down.
• Teenage girls and many women in the USA, UK, and elsewhere are now vaccinated against HPV, which should in time both protect them from cervical cancers and – it's believed – future partners from HPV-related oral cancers.
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Those last two are a bit funny since Michael Douglas married a woman 25 yrs younger than himself.
An aside: There was a time in this country that folks died of 'natural causes', then cancer/heart disease and now we have so many diagnoses you seemingly need a 200 IQ to keep up with it all.
Main thing is do the best you can while you can and enjoy it as much as you can.
Have Fun, Play Safe. ga_kos
