May 31, 2011, - 3:56 pm
Another Bill Clinton Dividend: Throat Cancer Rises in Men
When the Bill Clinton impeachment hearings were going on, the Wall Street Journal did a story about one of his lasting “contributions” to American culture: because of the whole Monica Lewinsky saga, thong underwear became hip beyond porn movies and strip joints. That was the Clinton contribution to fashion, but his real lasting contribution may be the recent increase in throat cancer in men. Remember when Bill Clinton said oral sex isn’t sex?
“I Did Not Have ‘Sex’ With That Woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”
When I read the story, this morning, the first thing I thought of when I read the headline, “Throat Cancer Linked to Virus,” and the first paragraph about how the cancer is linked to HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, is that it’s probably because of an increase in oral sex. Bill Clinton dismissed it as not sex and something far more casual and less intimate. Thereafter, the numbers of people engaged in it went up. And with the feminist ethos that now dominates America (including in the Republican Party), the women insist on being, um, “equally serviced” (Bill Clinton’s cigar is no longer enough). Thus, the increase in throat cancer for men. And the scientists agree with me. Well, some of their findings do. Look at the years for when HPV-related throat cancer in men went up: 1988-2004. Yes, four years before Clinton/Monica and many years during and beyond.
Plus, the increase in this cancer in men versus a decrease in cervical cancer for women is a stark reflection in the disproportionate federal and private money spent on research and treatment of female-dominated cancers (breast cancer, cervical cancer) versus that spent on male-related (testicular, HPV throat) cancers and other non-gender specific cancers (pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, etc.).
A sharp rise in a type of throat cancer among men is increasingly being linked to HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus that can cause cervical cancer in women.
A new study from the National Cancer Institute warns that if recent trends continue, the number of HPV-positive oral cancers among men could rise by nearly 30% by 2020. At that rate, it could surpass that of cervical cancers among women, which are expected to decline as a result of better screening.
The study is to be presented this week at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.
Between 1988 and 2004, the researchers found, the incidence of HPV-positive oropharynx cancers—those that affect the back of the tongue and tonsil area—increased by 225%. Anil Chaturvedi, a National Cancer Institute investigator who led the research, estimates there were approximately 6,700 cases of HPV-positive oropharynx cancers in 2010, up from 4,000 to 4,500 in 2004, and cases are projected to increase 27% to 8,500 in 2020.
Recent studies show about 25% of mouth and 35% of throat cancers are caused by HPV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Men account for the majority of cases, and currently the highest prevalence is in men 40 to 55, says Eric Genden, chief of head and neck oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Studies have shown that the cancer can show up 10 years after exposure to HPV, which has become the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S.
“We are sitting at the cusp of a pandemic,” says Dr. Genden. . . .
Researchers say it isn’t clear why men are at higher risk for HPV-positive oral cancers. But for both men and women a high lifetime number of sex partners is associated with the cancer.
Changes in sexual behaviors that include increased practice of oral sex are associated with the increase, but a 2007 New England Journal of Medicine article also said engagement in casual sex, early age at first intercourse, and infrequent use of condoms each were associated with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer. Mouth-to-mouth contact through kissing can’t be ruled out as a transmission route.
Most infections don’t cause symptoms and go away on their own. But HPV can cause genital warts and warts in the throat, and has been associated with vaginal, vulvar and anal cancers.
Unfortunately, all this data is being used by the makers of Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, to push the states to force boys to be vaccinated, as many have done with young girls. Very sad. And very statist. And there’s no proof it can effectively prevent this type of throat cancer.
Tags: American Society of Clinical Oncology, Anil Chaturvedi, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton dividend, casual, Casual Sex, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, epidemic, Eric Genden, Gardasil, HPV, HPV vaccine, HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, HPV-positive oropharynx cancers, human papillomavirus, increase, Males, men, Monica Lewinsky, Mount Sinai Medical Center, National Cancer Institute, neck oncology, New England Journal of Medicine, not sex, oral sex, sex, sexually transmitted, studies, throat cancer, throat cancer in men
“….We’re on a cusp of a pandemic.”
You mean ANOTHER one?
While there was some official sounding Science-speak
I didn’t see any actually studies to support the conclusions.
Assumptions made from statistics are NOT the same a scientific method.
Just saying.
Sam Adams on May 31, 2011 at 4:18 pm