December 21, 2021
You might have heard a lot about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and its role in cervical cancer, but this sexually transmitted virus can also cause another type of cancer.
Rates of oropharyngeal cancer, which occurs in the middle part of the throat, are rising rapidly among older men throughout the United States. They’re also growing among women in the Southeast and Midwest.
Investigators from University of Texas Health School of Public Health have been examining the occurrence of these cases, finding also that people diagnosed with large tumors and the death rate related to this have increased in the past decade.
“Ten, 15 or 20 years ago, what we observed was that the oropharyngeal cancer incidents were largely an issue among young individuals,” said study author Ashish Deshmukh. “Now there’s a shift that we are seeing a decrease or a stabilization among young and middle-age groups, but among older individuals, now the increases are more rapid.”
Read more at U.S. News & World Report.