Newly revealed hazard

In an Online Opinion article today, which is mainly a complaint about Catholic attitudes towards the Gardasil vaccine, this interesting bit of information appears:

Research presented this month at the American Society of Clinical Oncology has confirmed that HPV-16 does not only cause cervical cancer. It also causes throat cancer in both men and women. This means that Gardasil may play an important role in preventing cancer in male populations.

Researchers led by Farshid Dayyani at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas, found that people who tested positive to HPV-16 were 58 times more likely to have throat cancer compared to those who had no history of having the virus.

Research has also shown that the virus is transmitted through fellatio and cunnilingus, and that both men and women who have performed oral sex on five or more partners (of either sex) are at a significantly higher risk of developing throat cancer. So much so, that they are considered to be at more risk than those who smoke or drink heavily.

I'm surprised I haven't read this elsewhere. I need to use Google alerts more, although it would be slightly embarrassing to set one up for the terms needed to catch this story.