Many people are now quite familiar with the idea that a common virus – HPV or human papillomavirus – is linked with cervical cancer. Girls in school Year 8 are offered a vaccine to protect against it, and women are sometimes tested for HPV in the context of cervical screening. But fewer people know that HPV is also linked with oral cancer. In 2013, Michael Douglas talked to the media about the link between HPV and oral cancer in the context of his own diagnosis, and we were interested to see if this was used as an opportunity to raise public awareness of the link.

We know that media coverage can influence public awareness and perceptions about cancer. People have been shown to be more interested in disease prevention following a celebrity diagnosis. In the UK, the case of reality TV star Jade Goody (who died of cervical cancer in 2009) was associated with an increase in the number of women attending cervical screening. The NHS Be Clear on Cancer media campaigns have also been shown to be effective in increasing awareness of key symptoms for cancers and with more people seeking help from their GP.

Michael Douglas was interviewed by The Guardian in June 2013, and stated that his throat cancer was ‘caused by HPV which actually comes about by cunnilingus’. This statement was later retracted by his publicist, but not before it had received global media attention. This provided the media with a prime opportunity to discuss the link between HPV and oral cancer. But just what was discussed?

In our research paper we looked at UK newspaper articles mentioning HPV and oral cancer and found that there had been some coverage of the link going back as far as 2001, but there was a large peak in articles following Michael Douglas’ disclosure in June 2013. When we looked at the content of these articles, we found they covered Michael Douglas’ disclosure, some questioned if oral sex is risky and others discussed the vaccination of boys and general information about HPV.

Taking their cue from Douglas’ statement, a large number of articles mentioned oral sex as a cause of mouth cancer, with some reflecting on why HPV-related oral cancer might be twice as common in men as in women. An increase in the number of people having oral sex was suggested as a reason for the growing numbers of HPV-related oral cancers. It was also acknowledged that ‘oral sex is a topic which could not have been discussed openly even recently’.

Although most of the articles included some information around HPV and oral cancer, this often wasn’t detailed. Some articles communicated that the incidence of oral cancer is increasing, but less than 20 per cent of the articles communicated the important messages that 8/10 people will contract HPV in their lifetime and that HPV-related oral cancer has a better prognosis and survival.

There were also calls for boys to be vaccinated against HPV, as oral cancer affects both men and women. Campaigners believe giving boys the vaccination will help stop the ‘catastrophic rise’ in cancers. Some also viewed it as unethical to give the vaccination to girls and not to boys.

The UK media did regularly discuss HPV and oral cancer and the transmission of HPV via oral sex, but detailed information about HPV was generally lacking. Important messages to remember and communicate to others are that HPV is common, it is a result of normal sexual behaviour, and it has a better prognosis than oral cancers caused by smoking and alcohol.

Article link:

Dodd RH, Marlow LAV, Forster AS, Waller J. Print and online newspaper coverage of the link between HPV and oral cancer in the UK: a mixed-methods study. BMJ Open. 2016; 6:e008740.

http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/2/e008740.full?keytype=ref&ijkey=a1QD2l1zZXkM6GX