Cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the globe. In 2025, the National Cancer Institute estimates that 618,120 people in the United States will die from cancer, while around two million will be diagnosed.
As 16,950 women and 2,800 men in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, it's the most common diagnosis. Still, men in particular are being warned to look out for a rise in throat cancer.
Since 2023, there's been a spike in oropharyngeal cancer that affects the tonsils and the back of the throat. The leading cause of this is human papillomavirus (HPV), which is also the biggest cause of cervical cancer.
In 2023, oropharyngeal cancer was more common than cervical cancer in both the USA and the UK. Frank Lane recently shared his story, with the father of two being 'floored' by his throat cancer diagnosis.
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The truck driver says he noticed a lump that was the size of a 'boiled egg' two years ago, explaining: "I was having a shave, felt my neck and thought 'that feels a bit hard. It was just a slight swelling.
"I was very tired, but I just thought it was down to work and not getting enough sleep. I was also waking up to go to the toilet three or four times a night, but I put that down to getting older."
Lane's partner said to give it two weeks because it might be his glands and stress from going to the gym, but with the lump remaining, he booked an appointment with his doctor.
With the growth 'sticking out of the top of his tonsils' and Lane being referred for a biopsy, he was soon told that he had throat cancer caused by HPV.
Lane did his own research into how cunnilingus and throat cancer have been linked, connecting the dots with a series of 'flings' he had in his '20s.
According to research shared by The Conversation, oropharyngeal cancer's biggest risk involves how many lifetime sexual partners you've had in terms of oral sex. Anyone with more than six lifetime oral-sex partners is said to be 8.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer than people who don't have oral sex.
The problem is that HPV doesn't typically carry any symptoms, while the World Health Organisation reminds us that it can take up to 20 years for cervical cancer to develop following an initial HPV infection.
This isn't the first time we've been warned about oral sex being a contributing cause of throat cancer, as in 2013, Hollywood star Michael Douglas revealed his own diagnosis to The Guardian and confirmed: "This particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus."
As theorized in The Conversation, most who catch a HPV infection can clear it with their own bodies. For the small number who can't (potentially due to their immune system), the virus can replicate in random parts of their DNA and turn cells cancerous.
Some countries have implemented HPV vaccinations in young women, while there's talk about 'herd immunity' among men in places where over 85% of the women are vaccinated.
Countries including the USA, UK, and Australia are trying to encourage men to get a gender-neutral HPV vaccine, but as others remain wary of vaccinations and a post-COVID trend of anti-vaxxers continues, it remains a sticking point.
Thankfully for Frank Lane, he's now cancer-free after 16 months. Giving his own opinion, Lane said: "My advice would be, don't have oral sex. For anyone who can't follow that, my advice would be if you have any unusual symptoms, don't ignore them, get it checked out."