Do you remember when Michael Douglas said that oral sex was the reason for him getting throat cancer? Well according to recent findings, he was right.

A devastating new study has found that giving head can massively increase your chance of getting throat cancer.

It’s all because oral is a really good way of spreading the human papillomavirus (HPV) and certain types of this virus can cause cancer.

The study looked at 97,000 people who had HPV-16 in their mouth. They were cancer free at the start, but after four years, 132 cases of head and neck cancer were identified. These were compared with a group of participants who were virus free and the conclusive findings showed that those with HPV-16 were 22 times more likely to contract the disease.

Dr Ilir Agalliu, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, said:

This study shows using easily collected oral mouthwash samples may help in predicting people’s risk for developing head and neck cancers.

Normally neck and throat cancer is associated with drinking and smoking. Not the best news if you like to combine the three activities (which I’m pretty sure most of us do). Anyway, hopefully this study will do some good in making people more vigilant about getting checked out regularly, although I doubt it will affect the amount of head people give because let’s face it, it’s a great way to spend time with someone.

HPV is a pretty rubbish thing in general. It is so easily passed on that it effects most of us at some point in our lives. Most strands of it aren’t a problem as our body gets rid of it, but some can stay, manifest and lead to cancer of the cervix, penis, anus, vagina or mouth. Ouch.

Can’t decide what would be worse — contracting one of the bad types of HPV or getting ‘Super Gonorrhoea’.