Women who have more sexual partners are less likely to get oral cancer (but not true for men)

Women who have a higher number of sexual partners are less likely to develop cancer of the throat and mouth, researchers say.

The cancers are linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections.

Researchers told the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting that they also found men were twice as likely to develop the disease.

For men, the risk of HPV-driven cancers of the head and neck rise along with the number of oral sex partners, researchers said.

Gypsyamber D'Souza, who teaches epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said middle aged white men are at particularly high risk compared to other races.

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