Brits are 'poorly educated' when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases like human papilloma virus (HPV) and its link to mouth cancer, according to a new survey.
Sex on Female First
Only one in four were able to identify HPV as a cause of mouth cancer while almost half were unaware the sexually transmitted disease was contracted through unprotected sex.
Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, said although knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases as a whole has improved over the years, awareness of HPV still falls woefully short.
Dr Carter said: “In the next decade, we are likely to see HPV rival smoking as the leading cause of mouth cancer, not only in the UK but around the world. Unfortunately, our knowledge of this virus is extremely poor.
“Cases of mouth cancer have doubled in the last 30 years, coinciding with the rise of HPV, and strengthen the argument that there is not enough awareness of the risks we take when we have sex. By improving standards of sexual health education, young people are more likely to start their sexual relationships safely and continue the practice later in to life.”
In the UK, around one in five mouth cancer cases are predicted to be as a result of the HPV infection.
Both the number of sexual partners a person has throughout their lifetime, along with their age at sexual debut, has been associated with sexually-transmitted HPV.
“As the majority of HPV cases are seen in younger people, there has been a dramatic fall in the age of the average mouth cancer sufferer,” Dr Carter added.
“By increasing the quality of education in matters relating to contraception and safe sex, we can prevent many HPV-related mouth cancer cases, and in turn save thousands of lives.”
The survey, which questioned more than 2,000 adults as part of Mouth Cancer Action Month, found that almost two-thirds (63 per cent) did not know HPV was connected to oral sex while one in ten falsely believed diseases like syphilis (10.9 per cent) and chlamydia (10.5 per cent) were connected with mouth cancer.
According to the latest figures 6,236 are diagnosed with mouth cancer in the UK every year. Over two-thirds of cases diagnosed at a late stage, the chance of survival is reduced from 90 per cent to 50 per cent.
For more information about mouth cancer or the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, please visit www.mouthcancer.org.