Doctors warn they are seeing cases of throat cancer in ‘much younger patients’ and suggest oral sex is driving the worrying trend.
A new report shows that hundreds more people are dying from the disease than before the Covid pandemic, with a nearly 50 percent increase in cases since 2013.
Since the early 1990s: incidence rates According to Cancer Research UK, rates have risen by more than a third in Britain.
But for women aged 25 to 49, the figures increased by 60 percent between 1993 and 2019, and by 34 percent for men.
Smoking, alcohol and the human papillomavirus (HPV) – a normally harmless virus spread sexually and through skin contact – are believed to be behind the rise.
There are around 12,800 new cases of head and neck cancer in the UK each year and around 71,100 in the UK
A new report, produced by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the University of Sheffield, analyzed data from 2013 to 2020.
It found that the number of cases of head and neck cancer in England in 2019 was 10,735, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, as of 2021, this has now reached 11,000.
In 2020, 3,469 people died from head and neck cancer, an increase from the 3,313 deaths in 2019.
OHID said the increase was caused by an increase in oropharyngeal cancer, a form of the disease that starts in the part of the throat just behind the mouth and includes tonsil cancer and cancer of the back of the tongue.
Figures show that there were 3,834 new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in 2019, an increase of 47 percent since 2013.
Around 13,000 new head and neck cancers are already diagnosed in the UK every year, of which around 71,100 are in the US.
But experts predict the number of cases will increase by a further 3 percent in Britain between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, according to Cancer Research UK.
Since the early 1990s, the incidence of cancer in Britain has risen by more than a third (35 percent), according to data from Cancer Research UK. But for women aged 25 to 49, the figures increased by 60 per cent between 1993 and 2019 (source: Cancer Research UK)
Data also shows a rise in the number of men diagnosed with head and neck cancer, with a 34 per cent increase since 1993 (source: Cancer Research UK)
These data show that in Great Britain the number of cases of throat cancer is on an increasing trend, just like in the US (source: Cancer Research UK)
Professor Ali Khurram, an expert in the disease at the University of Sheffield, added: ‘Head and neck cancer can have a devastating effect on the lives of people with the disease and their families.
‘Although head and neck cancer is one of the most common cancers in England, with significantly poorer survival compared to other cancers, awareness among the public, health professionals and funding organizations is poor.
“This report, the first of its kind, provides an opportunity to take action to reverse these worrying trends.”
Doctors have found that oral sex is the biggest risk factor for this type of cancer – more so than smoking, alcohol consumption and an unhealthy diet.
This is because the actions can lead to an HPV infection at the back of the throat or near the tonsils.
The incidence of head and neck cancer in Britain is highest in people aged 65 to 69, but doctors say they are seeing more cases in those under 50.
Prof Khurram said: ‘There is poor awareness of the disease and its causative factors. We are now seeing these cancers in much younger patients.
‘A significant proportion of the increase can be attributed to HPV (tonsil cancer) infection, but the majority remains linked to smoking or chewing tobacco and alcohol, which are increasingly used.
‘Poor oral health and socio-economic factors also contribute to the increased incidence. We also have an increasingly aging population who are at much greater risk of developing these cancers.”
Dr. Hisham Mehanna, from Britain’s University of Birmingham, said 70 percent of throat cancers are caused by HPV, which has been linked to several cancers.
He said people with multiple oral sex partners have an up to ninefold increased risk of throat cancer, also known as oropharyngeal cancer.
He wrote inside The conversation that there is a ‘rapidly increasing throat cancer in the West’ to the extent that some call ‘an epidemic’.
Research shows that about eight in ten people will carry HPV in their bodies at some point, with about a third of the population being infected at some point.
It is usually found on and around the genitals and usually does not cause any problems. Because the virus is so harmless, the body’s immune system does not try to fight it naturally.
However, for reasons not yet fully understood, the virus can invade body tissues and cause cell changes that lead to cancer.
There are more than 150 types of HPV, but only about 12 can cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk strains that can cause oropharyngeal cancer.
Catching HPV has been shown to increase the risk of several cancers, including cervical cancer, oral cancer, anal cancer, penile cancer and vaginal cancer
The HPV vaccine – which is offered to all 12- and 13-year-old schoolchildren – more than halved the number of cases of head and neck cancer, a study shows
Oropharyngeal cancer affects men more than women, but it is not clear whether cunnilingus (oral sex in a woman) is riskier in terms of HPV transmission than fellatio (oral sex in a man).
Research shows that the vast majority of women (85.4 percent) and women (83.2 percent) have oral sex during intimacy.
HPV has been shown to increase the risk of several cancers, including cervical, oral, anal, penile, and vaginal cancers.
There is a vaccine against HPV. It is more than 80 percent effective and available in much of the developed world.
It is a two-dose vaccine that is now available for children between the ages of 11 and 12. The injections are given twelve months apart.
Only 67.2 percent of girls were fully vaccinated in 2021/2022, compared to a record 86.7 percent in 2013/2014. Around 62.4 per cent of boys who have received the jab from the NHS since 2019 received a jab in the most recent school year, NHS data shows
For people who missed that window, a three-dose shot is available for people ages 15 to 26.
The vaccine has been offered to girls in England and Wales since September 2008, before being extended to boys in 2019.
But the jab not only helps prevent cervical cancer, it has also proven effective in reducing the number of cases of head and neck cancer.
According to a survey of more than 5 million men and women in the United States, rates have dropped from 6.3 cases to 2.8 cases per 100,000 men.