Summarized with assistance from Shannon Ingram, SIECUS Program
Research Intern Source: Anil Chaturvedi et al., “Human
Papillomavirus and Rising Oropharyngeal Cancer Incidence in the
United States,” Journal of Clinical Oncology (October 2011). The
U.S. has experienced a noteworthy rise in the number of cancers
of the throat and mouth over the past 25 years. A team of cancer
researchers studied 271 cancerous tissue specimens from three
different national registries to determine whether Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) played a role in this rise.1 Until now,
evidence has been lacking. The tissue samples had been obtained
from patients over a 20-year period (1984-2004). The researchers
also projected the future burden of oropharyngeal cancers
through the year 2030, along with other head/neck and cervical
cancers. · The overall rise in throat and mouth cancers from
1984-2004 was strongly associated with HPV infection; by
contrast, the incidence (i.e. rate of new cases) of such cancers
caused by tobacco and alcohol use d