It Might Be Possible To Give HPV To Yourself

Getty

By: Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer

Published: 11/12/2013 07:42 AM EST on LiveScience

One potential risk factor for getting oral infections with the human papillomavirus (HPV) may have been overlooked by researchers: giving it to yourself.

In a new study, women who engaged in behaviors that could potentially transfer HPV from their genitals to their mouths were nearly four times more likely to have an oral HPV infection ^[1] than those who did not engage in such behaviors. (Presumably, women would need to already have an HPV infection in their genitals for such a transfer to occur.)

The results held even after the researchers took into account other behaviors that could increase the women's risk of oral HPV infection, such as their number of oral sex partners ^[2] .

However, it's too soon to say that this so-called "self-inoculation" is a true risk factor for oral HPV infections, said study researcher Natalie Kelso, a doctoral student at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions. The study involved young women at a single university, and the number of participants infected with oral HPV was quite low, so more studies are needed that look at the risk in a large, diverse group of women, Kelso said. [The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos and Bizarre Facts ^[3] ]

But the findings underscore the need for researchers to ask sensitive questions about people's sexual practices in order to better understand the types of behaviors that increase the risk getting of oral HPV ^[4] , Kelso said.

The study was presented last week at the American Public Health Association meeting in Boston.

Oral HPV infections are linked with the development of some head and neck cancers ^[5] . And previous studies have found that people who have a higher number of sex partners or oral sex partners have a higher risk of oral HPV.

But it's not known whether certain oral sex behaviors are more risky than others.

In the new study, researchers tested more than 1,000 college women for oral HPV. The women also completed an online questionnaire about their sexual behaviors.

A few questions asked about self-inoculation: "Has a hand, yours or someone else's, ever touched your genitals, and then touched your mouth?" and "Have you ever put your mouth on a sex toy after it had touched your genitals?"

About 2 percent of participants had an oral HPV infection, and 16 percent had engaged in behaviors that could lead to self-inoculation.

Among the self-inoculation group, 6 percent had an oral HPV infection, compared with just 1.2 percent of those who had never engaged in behaviors that could lead to self-inoculation.

People with more past-year kissing partners, and more lifetime oral sex (oral-penile) partners also had a higher risk of oral HPV than those with fewer partners.

It's possible that some participants were infected with oral HPV, but the virus was dormant (not shedding), and so it was not detected in the test, Kelso noted.

The researchers would like to conduct future studies on men, since the rate of oral HPV infections is higher in men than women. A 2012 study found about 10 percent of men ages 14 to 69 have an oral HPV infection, compared with 3.6 percent of women.

Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner . Follow LiveScience @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on LiveScience ^[10] .^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

Quiz: Test Your STD Smarts ^[11]

Sexy Tech: 6 Apps That May Stimulate Your Love Life ^[12]

50 Sultry Facts About Sex ^[13]

Also on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

An Abnormal Pap Test Means You Have High-Risk HPV

Pap tests are the commonly accepted screening to prevent cervical cancer. A doctor scrapes a cell culture from a woman's cervix and then examines the cells for signs of abnormality. But just because a few of those cells appear abnormal, requiring further screening, doesn't necessarily mean that you've got a cancer-causing strain of HPV -- that's only one potential cause. "The difference could be due to local irritation, a non-HPV infection, a low-risk HPV type, or even a mistake in the preparation of the cell sample," writes the American Sexual Health Association.

Condom Use Prevents HPV

HPV is passed via skin contact, rather than bodily fluid. For that reason, condoms can lower the risk of the disease, but they are not a sufficiently preventive measure, as they are for viruses like HIV and bacteria like gonorrhea.

Oral Sex Is Safe From Cancer Risk

While the HPV-cancer connection most often relates to cervical health, a 2011 Journal of Clinical Oncology study found what doctors have long observed: There has been a surge in HPV-associated oral cancers. In fact, between 1988 and 2004, <a href="http://nyp.org/enews/oral-sex-hpv.html">HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers rose 225 percent</a>. Oral sex is the primary culprit, making cancer screening of the mouth and esophagus another important test while visiting the doctor.

HPV Vaccine Means I Don't Have To Worry About Cervical Cancer

The HPV vaccine protects against four strains of the virus that are most often associated with cancer and genital warts, but that doesn't mean it prevents cancer entirely. One concern within the medical community is that the vaccination will <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3104818/">provide a false sense of security</a> and prevent innoculated men and women from receiving regular cancer screening. "Clearer information is needed concerning the incomplete protection offered by the vaccine, and that cervical screening will still be required," wrote a group of British public health researchers in the Journal of Medical Screening.

HPV Is A Serious, Life-Long Condition

About 90 percent of HPV infections <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt05-hpv.pdf">are resolved by the body's immune system</a>.

Genital Warts Can Be Pre-Cancerous

Some strains of HPV (<a href="http://www.ashastd.org/std-sti/hpv/myths-and-misconceptions.html">"low risk" types 6, 11, 42, 43 and 44</a>) cause benign growths known as genital warts and other strains (types 16, 18, 31 and 45) cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, or an area called the oropharynx, which includes the back of the throat, the base of the tongue and the tonsils. But that doesn't mean that one leads to the other -- genital warts, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm">which affect about one percent of the sexually active U.S. adult population</a> -- do not lead to cancer.

The HPV Vaccine Is For Girls

The first HPV-preventive vaccine on the market, Gardasil, was approved by the FDA for use in girls in 2006 and <a href="http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm187003.htm">in boys three years later</a>. What's more, there are two FDA-approved vaccines for girls and women: Gardasil and Cervarix; while only Gardasil is available to boys and men. Still, HPV vaccination is the responsibility of all. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend the vaccine for boys for two primary reasons. First, inoculated boys will not be vectors for the disease, which can contribute to herd immunity and prevent dangerous infection in women. But more, the incidence of HPV-associated cancers that affect men is also growing, including anal and penile cancer and cancers of the mouth and throat.

Girls Who Receive An HPV Vaccine Will Be More Sexually Active

<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1206813,00.html">Despite initial hand-wringing</a> that the vaccine could lead to promiscuity, a study of adolescent girls -- both those who had been inoculated and those who hadn't -- found no evidence that those who received the vaccination engaged in riskier behavior: they were no more likely to contract an STI, become pregnant or even seek out contraception -- a measure of intended sexual activity. "HPV vaccination in the recommended ages was not associated with increased sexual activity–related outcome rates," <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/10/10/peds.2012-1516.abstract%7CSexual">the researchers wrote</a>.