Sexually transmitted disease blamed for rise in oral cancer

Oral cancer cases have risen above 6,000 a year for the first time, figures revealed today.

Cancer Research UK has attributed the increase to rising rates of the human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, especially through high-risk strains of the sexually transmitted virus.

Two thirds of the 6,200 cases diagnosed in the UK in 2011 were men.

Experts say men are more likely to smoke and drink heavily, both significant risk factors in oral cancer.

There were particularly sharp rises in rates of cancers at the base of the tongue and the tonsils two areas of the mouth where cancers are HPV-related.

Richard Shaw, a Cancer Research UK expert said: “We have noticed that patients with HPV-related oral cancers tend to be younger.”