Oral Sex Is Sex and Can Lead to Cancer

Sunday, February 20, 2011: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
207A (Washington Convention Center )
Today's teens consider oral sex to be casual, socially acceptable, inconsequential, and significantly less risky to their health than "real" sex. However, oral sex, like any unprotected sex, can result in transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as human papilloma virus (HPV). According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, “HPV has now been shown to be sexually transmitted between partners and is conclusively implicated in the increasing incidence of young nonsmoking oral cancer patients. HPV is the same virus identified as the causative agent in more than 90 percent of all cervical cancers. Based on recent data, it appears that in people under the age of 50, HPV-associated oral cancers may even be replacing tobacco as the primary causative agent in the initiation of the disease process.” This symposium will explore the evidence associating the presence of HPV and cancer, the rapid spread of this virus, its long-term consequences, sex and adolescent behavior, and creation and controversial use of the HPV vaccine.
Organizer:
Margarita Zeichner-David, University of Southern California
Moderator:
Margarita Zeichner-David, University of Southern California
Speakers:
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, University of California
Adolescents and Oral Sex: Is It Really Something To Worry About?
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