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Oral sex and HPV
Dear Doctor:
After reviewing various studies that have been done on oral HPV, there seems to be a clear link between HPV and head and neck cancer. I believe the American cancer society also supports this link. That being said, ~18 months ago, a female friend of mine performed oral sex on me twice within about a 3 week period. I learned 6 months later that she had an abnormal pap, and tested positive for high risk HPV (not sure which type). That brings me to the following questions:
1. What are the chances of my female friend having oral HPV if she also performed oral sex on the person who gave her genital HPV? Is it possible for her to concurrently become infected with a genital and oral infection?
2. Assuming my female friend had HPV before our contact, and she did become infected with oral HPV, is it possible for me to become infected, or is oral to genital infection more difficult than genital to oral infection? I have read on past threads that it is very uncommon for the virus to pass orally, but there must be some risk factor if people with throat cancer have tested positive for the virus in their throats. I know both doctors in the forum to be experts in the area, and I was wondering if your low risk stance has changed since these recent studies have been published?
3. I know the clear rate for the virus is ~90%; is there any unique attribute of the 10% who do not clear the virus, or it is pretty random?
I know that most experts agree that in a developed country, HPV is a mere inconvenience, but my current girlfriend/ soon to be fiancé is a virgin, and I would not want to pass something on to her. I also have not had much in the way of sexual contact outside of this one exposure, so there is very little risk of me having HPV outside of this contact.
Thank you very
After reviewing various studies that have been done on oral HPV, there seems to be a clear link between HPV and head and neck cancer. I believe the American cancer society also supports this link. That being said, ~18 months ago, a female friend of mine performed oral sex on me twice within about a 3 week period. I learned 6 months later that she had an abnormal pap, and tested positive for high risk HPV (not sure which type). That brings me to the following questions:
1. What are the chances of my female friend having oral HPV if she also performed oral sex on the person who gave her genital HPV? Is it possible for her to concurrently become infected with a genital and oral infection?
2. Assuming my female friend had HPV before our contact, and she did become infected with oral HPV, is it possible for me to become infected, or is oral to genital infection more difficult than genital to oral infection? I have read on past threads that it is very uncommon for the virus to pass orally, but there must be some risk factor if people with throat cancer have tested positive for the virus in their throats. I know both doctors in the forum to be experts in the area, and I was wondering if your low risk stance has changed since these recent studies have been published?
3. I know the clear rate for the virus is ~90%; is there any unique attribute of the 10% who do not clear the virus, or it is pretty random?
I know that most experts agree that in a developed country, HPV is a mere inconvenience, but my current girlfriend/ soon to be fiancé is a virgin, and I would not want to pass something on to her. I also have not had much in the way of sexual contact outside of this one exposure, so there is very little risk of me having HPV outside of this contact.
Thank you very
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your question suggests to me that you are committed to overreacting to the exposure you described. I hope you will not.
1. I am sure such tests can be found but why look. What if it is positive? What would you do.? There is no therapy suggested or recommended for HPV deteted in the mouth. As I said, this is a research topic and HPV research is going on all over the U.S..
2. There is already a lot of therapy available for genital HPV. The answer to your question however is far, far beyond the scope of this site. For additional information on HPV I recommend that you take a look at the balanced and useful information available at the American Social Health Association web site (Dr. Handsfield and I are both members of the ASHA Board of Directors). EWH
1. I am sure such tests can be found but why look. What if it is positive? What would you do.? There is no therapy suggested or recommended for HPV deteted in the mouth. As I said, this is a research topic and HPV research is going on all over the U.S..
2. There is already a lot of therapy available for genital HPV. The answer to your question however is far, far beyond the scope of this site. For additional information on HPV I recommend that you take a look at the balanced and useful information available at the American Social Health Association web site (Dr. Handsfield and I are both members of the ASHA Board of Directors). EWH
Dr. Hook,
I have a few follow up questions if you do not mind:
1. Do you know anything about PCR testing for HPV? The test seems to be the gold standard in the UK, and can also test for HPV in males , but there only seems to be a few machines in the US and they are classified by the FDA as a type III test. Do you know of any "unofficial" HPV test for males in the US without having to travel across the pond to the UK?
2. Just out of curiosity, do you think there will be a therapeutic treatment for HPV in the next 5 years? There seems to be a few different drugs going into phase III trials in other developed countries. What is the latest you have heard from the publications you have read/ conferences you attend?
Once again, thank you for your time.
I have a few follow up questions if you do not mind:
1. Do you know anything about PCR testing for HPV? The test seems to be the gold standard in the UK, and can also test for HPV in males , but there only seems to be a few machines in the US and they are classified by the FDA as a type III test. Do you know of any "unofficial" HPV test for males in the US without having to travel across the pond to the UK?
2. Just out of curiosity, do you think there will be a therapeutic treatment for HPV in the next 5 years? There seems to be a few different drugs going into phase III trials in other developed countries. What is the latest you have heard from the publications you have read/ conferences you attend?
Once again, thank you for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to our Forum. there is an awful lot of misinformation and what is probably unreasonable concern over the topic of oral sex/HPV? and risk for oral cancer’s far as oral sex. You are right that some oral concerns are now associated with HPV however research on issues related to transmission and prevention are ongoing. Some perspective however is helpful. HPV is infrequently transmitted by oral sex. And despite the media attention about oral cancer, it's not a big deal. In the entire US, there are only about 6,000 cases of oral or throat cancer per year that are due to HPV-16, the main genital type that has been implicated; and those occur almost exclusively in people age 50 and over. . That number of cases of cancer appears to be rising, but it remains a rare disease. From these numbers alone (i.e. 1 in every 85,000 Americans), it is apparent that an extremely small number of sexually active people who might be exposed (e.g., oral sex with a partner with genital HPV-16) actually go on to develop oral cancer. And it is not at all certain that those people acquired their oral HPV through oral sex. It does appear that there is an important role of co-factors such as tobacco exposure (smoking or chewing). As for your specific questions:
1. This is a "what if" question for which there is no clear answer Your risk however of even having gotten infection and then possibly transmitting it to another partner is miniscule.
2. No, I think that the amount of reports regarding this issue are completely out of proportion to the problem. this is a place where information gotten over the internet is not a good thing.
3. The factors which contribute to lower clearance rates are not well described.
Bottom line, in my estimation, this really is not something to worry about. EWH
1. This is a "what if" question for which there is no clear answer Your risk however of even having gotten infection and then possibly transmitting it to another partner is miniscule.
2. No, I think that the amount of reports regarding this issue are completely out of proportion to the problem. this is a place where information gotten over the internet is not a good thing.
3. The factors which contribute to lower clearance rates are not well described.
Bottom line, in my estimation, this really is not something to worry about. EWH
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
