Spreading Awareness About HPV-Related Cancer
- A 60-year-old dad was diagnosed with tonsil cancer after suffering from a strange feeling of having “a peanut stuck in his throat.” He says his cancer was caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
- Tonsil cancer is a form of oropharyngeal cancer that occurs when the cells that make up the tonsils grow out of control and form lesions or tumors. Oropharyngeal cancer is a cancer oropharynx the middle portion of the throat (pharynx), beginning at the back of the mouth which includes the base of the tongue, the tonsils and the soft palate.
- Tonsil cancer is becoming increasingly common in the United States. It is often caused by past infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV).
- HPV is spread through sexual contact and is extremely common in Western society, according to Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. The majority of people with HPV will not get cancer, but “for about 6 to 7 percent of the population, the virus remains dormant in our body, and can ultimately cause changes that form cancer.”
- HPV vaccines, like other immunizations that guard against viral infection, stimulate the body to produce antibodies that attack if they encounter the HPV infection by binding to the virus and preventing it from infecting cells. HPV vaccines do not prevent other sexually transmitted diseases or treat existing HPV infections/HPV-caused disease, but their implementation can reduce the rates of certain cancers.
Emerson, who resides in Gloucestershire, England, beat tonsil cancer and was later diagnosed with prostate cancer, a disease he also beat. Now, he’s spreading awareness for these types of cancers by sharing his story and offering others hope when it comes to battling any type of disease.
After his tonsils were taken out, followup testing led to his tonsil cancer diagnosis in August 2022.
He was also informed the cancer was caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted disease that causes a significant number of head and neck cancers, approximately 70%.
More On HPV-Related Cancers
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Thankfully, after undergoing two rounds of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy, he was declared cancer-free months later.
He began his treatment in September 2022, concluded it all in November of that same year, and was told he no longer had any signs of cancer in the beginning of 2023, as per The Mirror.
Emerson, however, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2023, and later chose not to undergo a prostatectomy, but instead, get treatment through a new high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).
The resilient dad, who didn’t undergo surgery or chemo as treatment, said he had 60 percent of his prostate successfully removed and he beat prostate cancer that same year.
In a push for other men to get checked sooner than later, he urged, “Men need to wise up and get checked.
“I think men are a problem when it comes to dealing with this sort of thing, but if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for the people who love you.”
Understanding Tonsil Cancer
Tonsil cancer is a form of oropharyngeal cancer that occurs when the cells that make up the tonsils grow out of control and form lesions or tumors. Oropharyngeal cancer is a cancer oropharynx the middle portion of the throat (pharynx), beginning at the back of the mouth which includes the base of the tongue, the tonsils and the soft palate.
The most common symptom of tonsil cancer is an enlarged tonsil, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
If both tonsils are swollen or enlarged, the problem is less likely to be tonsil cancer, but you should still bring up the change to your health with your doctor.
Other tonsil cancer symptoms include:
- hoarseness
- a lump in the neck or throat
- a persistent sore throat
- difficulty swallowing
- ear or jaw pain
Tonsil cancer is becoming increasingly common in the United States. It is often caused by past infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV).
Understanding Head and Neck Cancer
Tonsil cancer falls under the umbrella of the general classification term head and neck cancer.
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), head and neck cancer is “a broad term encompassing a number of different malignant tumors that develop in or around the throat, larynx, nose, sinuses and mouth. Oral cancer is the most common type of head and neck cancer.
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The two main risk factors for this group of diseases include the following:
- Tobacco use. This is the single largest risk factor for head and neck cancer with researchers estimating that 70 to 80 percent of head and neck cancers being linked to tobacco use. Also worthy of note is that secondhand smoke may increase a person’s risk of developing head and neck cancer.
- Alcohol use. Using alcohol and tobacco together increases your risk even more.
“Head and neck cancer patients, we know that tobacco smoking is a risk but also heavy alcohol use,” Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer at Cleveland Clinic, previously told SurvivorNet.
“So, drinking more than two or three drinks if you’re a man per day, in addition to smoking. Smoking and alcohol are sort of additive carcinogens. Especially in cancer of the larynx or the voice box, we know that drinking heavily, heavy alcohol use, is just as important of a risk factor as tobacco smoking is.”
The Connection Between Head & Neck Cancers and HPV
It’s much more common to know someone who has a head or neck cancer now-a-days than it was several decades ago. And that’s because of its strong connection to HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.
“From the 1980s to the 2010s, the rate of HPV-related head and neck cancers has gone up by 300 percent,” Dr. Ted Teknos, a head and neck cancer specialist, and president and scientific director of University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, told SurvivorNet during a previous interview.
“That is entirely due to the HPV infection, in the throats of patients who have been exposed to HPV. So there is no myth … HPV causes throat cancer and it’s a sexually transmitted disease. And it’s something that is an epidemic in the United States.”
Understanding HPV and Cancer Risk
Meanwhile, Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, says the vast majority of humans in the United States — both men and women — will eventually get infected with HPV.
Dr. Ho explained, “The important thing to know about HPV is that there are many different strains, and only a couple of them tend to be more cancer-inducing.
“Probably less than 1 percent of the population who get infected happen to have the cancer-causing virus that somehow their immune system fails to clear, and over 15 to 20 years it develops from a viral infection into a tumor, and a cancer.”
It’s unclear whether HPV alone is enough to trigger the changes in your cells that lead to throat or mouth cancer, or whether this happens in combination with other risk factors like smoking. Of course, some people who develop throat or mouth cancers have no known risk factors for the condition. Genetics can play a role in this cancer, too.
Why the HPV Vaccine is so Important in Preventing Cancer
The HPV Vaccine
Oral and throat cancers are unique in that they’re usually preventable with the HPV vaccine. And that’s why those eligible should get vaccinated against HPV, SurvivorNet experts say.
The vaccine is typically given to children before they are sexually active, as HPV is transmitted through sexual contact.
And contrary to some detrimental misinformation circulated online, the HPV vaccine is entirely safe.
There are virtually no side effects with this vaccine, Dr. Jonathan Berek, director of the Women’s Cancer Center at Stanford Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
It is “incredibly safe,” he insisted. “It’s as safe as any vaccine has ever been. It’s highly-effective. It’s highly-predictive.”
Dr. Berek continued, “Some people say they’re concerned about it because they’re — they’ve called it a sex vaccine, that somehow it’s gonna encourage people to be sexually active. First of all, that’s not true. It’s, it’s an anti-cancer vaccine. And second of all, there are no data to support that contention.
“There are absolutely none. So it’s really based on fear, misinformation, disinformation … it’s not based on science or data. The science is very clear. It’s a highly-effective, safe vaccine, and should be promoted. And in those countries now where it has been promoted, we’re starting to see substantial reductions in the precancerous and early cancers of the cervix.”
HPV is responsible for 34,800 cases of cancer in the U.S. each year, but 90% of them can be prevented thanks to the HPV vaccine Gardasil.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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