Incidents of vocal cord cancer are on the rise in children, teens and young adults under 30. Research has shown vocal cord cancer can be viral (HPV), and results of a brand-new study shows this link between HPV and cancer may growing in children, teens and young adults under 30 years of age.
This research investigation was performed by Vocal Surgeon, Dr. Steven Zeitels at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), with the strategic support of the patient non-profit Voice Health Institute (VHI).
This is the first institutionally-based investigation to demonstrate that vocal cord cancer is undergoing a dramatic epidemiological change – showing young patients are now being diagnosed who do not have a history of smoking.
The general public is not aware of this epidemiologic transformation and remarkably, despite this trend, the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery still cites smoking is the etiology for 95% of patients with vocal cord cancer.
According to Zeitels and the study: tobacco-induced vocal cord cancer takes years/decades to develop – However, HPV presences speeds up the development of vocal cord cancer. The young adults who do smoke haven’t been using tobacco long enough for the disease to develop.
Data from the study:
- Throat cancer was not encountered in patients 30 years or younger between 1990 and 2004.
- 11 cases were identified between 2004 – 2018; of those 8 had never smoked and 3 of those 11 had less than a three-year smoking history (not long enough for the disease to develop)
- 10 of the 11 patients tested positive for HR-HPV
