O artigo que Bento gostaria de ter escrito!

Durante muito tempo, se questionou o envolvimento entre o câncer de boca e orofaringe e fatores de risco tais como álcool, fumo e outros agressores de mucosa. O vírus do papiloma humano entrou um dia para lista de suspeitos e agora ganhou mais uma testemunha de acusação: um artigo no prestigioso The New England Journal of Medicine vai fazer o papa Bento XVI dar pulos de alegria; veja abaixo o abstract do artigo:

Case–Control Study of Human Papillomavirus and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Gypsyamber D'Souza, Ph.D., Aimee R. Kreimer, Ph.D., Raphael Viscidi, M.D., Michael Pawlita, M.D., Carole Fakhry, M.D., M.P.H., Wayne M. Koch, M.D., William H. Westra, M.D., and Maura L. Gillison, M.D., Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

Background Substantial molecular evidence suggests a role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathogenesis of oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma, but epidemiologic data have been inconsistent.

Methods We performed a hospital-based, case–control study of 100 patients with newly diagnosed oropharyngeal cancer and 200 control patients without cancer to evaluate associations between HPV infection and oropharyngeal cancer. Multivariate logistic-regression models were used for case–control comparisons.

Results A high lifetime number of vaginal-sex partners (26 or more) was associated with oropharyngeal cancer (odds ratio, 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 6.5), as was a high lifetime number of oral-sex partners (6 or more) (odds ratio, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 8.8). The degree of association increased with the number of vaginal-sex and oral-sex partners (P values for trend, 0.002 and 0.009, respectively). Oropharyngeal cancer was significantly associated with oral HPV type 16 (HPV-16) infection (odds ratio, 14.6; 95% CI, 6.3 to 36.6), oral infection with any of 37 types of HPV (odds ratio, 12.3; 95% CI, 5.4 to 26.4), and seropositivity for the HPV-16 L1 capsid protein (odds ratio, 32.2; 95% CI, 14.6 to 71.3). HPV-16 DNA was detected in 72% (95% CI, 62 to 81) of 100 paraffin-embedded tumor specimens, and 64% of patients with cancer were seropositive for the HPV-16 oncoprotein E6, E7, or both. HPV-16 L1 seropositivity was highly associated with oropharyngeal cancer among subjects with a history of heavy tobacco and alcohol use (odds ratio, 19.4; 95% CI, 3.3 to 113.9) and among those without such a history (odds ratio, 33.6; 95% CI, 13.3 to 84.8). The association was similarly increased among subjects with oral HPV-16 infection, regardless of their tobacco and alcohol use. By contrast, tobacco and alcohol use increased the association with oropharyngeal cancer primarily among subjects without exposure to HPV-16.

Conclusions Oral HPV infection is strongly associated with oropharyngeal cancer among subjects with or without the established risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use.

Portanto, não meta o nariz onde não for chamado e, muito menos, a boca!
Enquanto Bento dá seus pulinhos, a ciência (maldita ciência) já anuncia resultados animadores com a vacina contra o HPV.

Vade retro!

P.s.
Bento não quer sexo, eu sou contra drogas, só sobra o rock'n'roll!
Morpheus achou um blog com tudo que ele tem gostado de ouvir e que não é nem MPB nem violão erudito: Music Mine
Arcade fire
Hard fi
Clap your hands and say yeah
Interpol
White stripes
Klaxons
Cake
Wolfmother
Dogs die in hot cars
Fratellis
Arctic monkeys
etc.
Vale a pena conferir!