“Although I’m not in a permanent relationship at the moment, I still have oral sex from time to time – also with different people. Can I get HPV and get cancer in the mouth? Can I also get infected by kissing if the partner has HPV in the mouth has?”*
The cancer-causing HPV types are primarily sexually transmitted. This usually requires direct mucosal contact. Because the viruses primarily infect mucous membrane cells on the genitals and anus. They can also affect the mucous membrane in the mouth and throat area.
Most people contract HPV through vaginal intercourse. But this is also possible with anal sex or oral sex.
Important to know: The risk of contracting HPV increases with the number of oral sex partners.
More research is needed on the risk of infection through oral sex:
- Men appear to be more at risk of contracting HPV from oral sex with women than women who have oral sex with men. One reason for this could be that the virus is found more frequently in the female genital area than in the male genital area.
- There are also still unanswered questions about the situation of homosexual people. For example, gay men have an increased risk of oral HPV infection. But that could also be because many of them have more sexual partners overall.
Background information on HPV
There are more than 200 different types of HPV. Only some of them can cause cancer. Experts call them high-risk types.
Most people will become infected with HPV at some point in their lives. This infection often heals without consequences. In some people, however, it lasts longer.
This does not automatically mean that you will get cancer. But the risk of certain types of cancer increases, such as cervical cancer, cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis or anus, and head and neck cancer.
HPV from petting and kissing?
You can also become infected with HPV during petting if you come into contact with your partner’s mucous membrane and he or she is already infected. However, this mode of transmission is rare.
According to current knowledge, you cannot become infected with “normal” kissing, as is customary among friends or family members. However, intense French kissing is possible if the other person has HPV in their mouth. But that is rather unlikely. Because HPV infections in the mouth area are rare.
Cancer risk from oral sex
If it is possible to become infected with HPV in the mouth area, then in principle cancer can also develop there after some time. Studies have shown that oral sex actually increases the risk of developing tumors in the mouth and throat area – especially if oral sex takes place with many different partners.
But it is important to know: Overall, cancer in the mouth and throat area is rare: just under 3 out of 100 cancers develop there. And only a portion of these tumors are caused by HPV. So, despite the increased risk of cancer from oral sex, the likelihood of getting cancer of the mouth and throat is quite low.
This is how you can protect yourself
You can only completely protect yourself from the cancer-causing HPV types by living a sexually abstinent life.
Don’t want to give up sex? Then experts recommend using condoms for oral sex as well. These do not provide complete protection: because condoms do not cover all areas in the genital area that can be infected. However, they significantly reduce the risk of contracting HPV.
The same probably applies to dental dams, which you can use to cover your vulva or anus during oral sex.
The HPV vaccination also protects against the most important high-risk HPV types. However, experts recommend them above all to children and young people, if possible before the first sexual contact.
Conclusion
It’s possible to contract human papillomavirus through oral sex, petting, or intense French kissing—although most HPV transmissions occur during vaginal intercourse. You can protect yourself, for example, by using condoms or wet wipes during oral sex.
Persistent HPV infection in the mouth can develop cancer over time. Overall, however, HPV infections in the mouth are rare – and tumors in the oropharynx caused by HPV are even rarer.
Questions about HPV and cancer? We are here for you.
You can reach the doctors at the Cancer Information Service:
*A notice: Such questions reach the cancer information service regularly. The question used is not an original request, but an edited example.