BALTIMORE Performing oral sex can increase the risk of throat cancer, scientists say. A new study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that human papillomavirus (HPV) spread through sexual contact can trigger a specific type of throat cancer in men and women.

HPV infection through sexual intercourse is normally associated with cervical cancer and genital or other warts. But American researchers have found that the virus is also a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, which affects the tonsils, tongue and throat.

This was especially true for people who had oral sex with multiple partners.

Oral sex — performed on either men or women — is the chief way HPV enters the mouth, the scientists say.

A history of HPV infection could increase the chances of developing the cancer by up to 32 times, the study shows.

Study participants who had more than six oral sex partners in their lifetime and showed evidence of HPV infection were 8.6 times more likely to develop the cancer than those who had never engaged in oral sex.

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