The mounting wave of deadly throat and mouth cancers—particularly in adults older than 45—has raised an alarm in the medical community, as a link between a common virus and vulnerability to these illnesses has become starkly evident. Dr. Matthew Old, a head and neck surgeon at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, points directly to human papillomavirus (HPV) as the main catalyst of this surge.
Nearly 55,000 Americans are diagnosed with throat or mouth cancer each year, and this number is climbing. The findings of a study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery highlighted a 2.7 percent increase per year in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer cases in men, with a surge of more than 3 percent per year among white males above the age of 65.
