April 21, 2009 Since the 1970s, the number of tonsil cancer
diagnoses in Sweden has tripled, and many are the result of
human papillomavirus (HPV) infection spread through oral sex,
say researchers. The cancer has typically been associated with
smoking and heavy drinking. Among 98 patients with tonsil cancer
whose tumor cells were analyzed during 2003-2007, researchers
found 83 were HPV-positive. In the 1970s, only 23 percent of
tonsil cancer cases were HPV-positive, the investigators said.
Patients with HPV-positive tonsil tumors are usually diagnosed
at a younger age and are likelier to survive, studies have
found. Further research will assess whether the HPV vaccines
Cervarix and Gardasil protect against such cancers and
malignancies in the mouth, said the study authors. "What we're
seeing today is the result of infections that occurred roughly
20 years ago," said study co-author Tina Dalianis, a professor
of tumor virology at the Karolinska Institute. "The prognosis is
obviously better for the HPV-positiv