There is a new epidemic building world-wide that has received surprisingly little attention. It is a significant increase in the number of head and neck cancers caused by the HPV virus (human papilloma virus). And the numbers are expected to keep rising.
According to the US Center for Disease Control, there are now more cases of HPV-related head and neck cancers diagnosed each year in the US than cases of HPV-related cervical cancers.
HPV is sexually transmitted and is associated with cancers in the cervix, anus, penis and head and neck, especially in the tonsils, back of the tongue and throat.
About 80 per cent of the population have HPV in their system at some time. Usually the immune system does its job and throws it off. However, for some, it causes changes in the DNA that take a long time to manifest as cancer.
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