Harvard Health Content API

Cancers of the upper throat are increasing, and the main reason is a virus spread by sex, a new study finds. Human papilloma virus (HPV) causes cervical cancer. But it also can cause cancer in upper throat. This is called oropharyngeal cancer. It is also found in the tonsils and the base of the tongue. Rates of this cancer have risen 28% since 1988. And most of these tumors now carry HPV, the new study found. In the past, these cancers were most often linked to tobacco or alcohol abuse. Other types of head and neck cancer have declined in the last 20 years. The new study looked at stored tumor issue from 271 patients with oropharyngeal cancer. About 16% of the samples from the late 1980s carried HPV. By the early 2000s, 73% did. Researchers said the proportion of tumors with the virus tripled. Tumors without the virus were down by half.

More and more research shows that the environment around cancer tumors can affect whether they grow and become a threat. And exercise can have an impact on that environment. USA TODAY wrote about this research focus in a group of articles published October 3. Exercise is especially helpful in the case of breast cancer. Women who exercise 30 minutes a day after menopause cut their chance of getting breast cancer by 20%. Staying active can help prevent obesity. Obesity increases breast cancer risk 30% to 50%. Exercise helps to stop long-term inflammation and control insulin. High levels of inflammation and insulin can fuel cancer growth. Exercise also reduces estrogen levels. This hormone spurs growth in many breast cancers. Scientists are still learning exactly how environment affects tumor growth. They hope research will lead to new treatments.

An outbreak of Listeria infections linked to cantaloupe has killed at least 13 people, U.S. health officials say. Three other deaths are still being investigated. In all, 72 people have become sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the deaths have occurred in 8 states. They are mostly in the Midwest and West. Cases of illness were reported in 18 states. It’s the worst outbreak in at least a decade, the CDC said. The Food and Drug Administration found that people got sick after eating cantaloupe from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo. The farm recalled its Rocky Ford cantaloupes earlier this month. Listeria bacteria usually don’t make people sick. The infection mainly affects the elderly, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. The Associated Press wrote about the outbreak September 28.

Many parents choose not to follow the recommended vaccine schedule for their children, a new survey has found. About 13% of parents with children under age 6 said they followed a different schedule. About 2% refused all vaccines. More than 80% of those who followed a different vaccine schedule said it was safer. Almost as many said it allowed them to skip vaccines that were not needed. Even some parents who followed the recommended schedule had doubts about it. About 1 out of 5 of these parents said that delaying doses was safer than the recommended schedule. The survey was done in 2010. It included 750 households. Among those who followed an alternate schedule, about half refused one or more vaccines. About half delayed some vaccines. More than one-third delayed the second and third doses for multi-dose vaccines.

Even blood pressure that is just below “high” can increase your risk of stroke, an analysis of research shows. A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80. High blood pressure is 140/90 or above. Pre-hypertension is the range between normal and high blood pressure. The new study put together results from 12 prior studies. They included more than 500,000 people with no history of heart disease or stroke. During the studies, people with pre-hypertension were 55% more likely to have a stroke than people with lower blood pressure. This was true even after numbers were adjusted to account for smoking and other factors that increase stroke risk. Then researchers split people with pre-hypertension into 2 groups. They found that stroke risk was increased only for those in the upper range of pre-hypertension. Their blood pressure readings were 130/85 to 139/89.

Men may need earlier testing for colon cancer than women, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at colonoscopy results for 44,350 adults. Their average age was just under 61. All took part in a national screening program in Austria. Nearly 25% of men had pre-cancerous tumors (polyps). The rate was 15% among women. About 19% of men ages 50 to 54 had polyps. Women didn’t have polyps at this rate until they were much older — ages 65 to 69. The rate of polyps was 11% among women in their early 50s. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it September 27.