A: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported that the virus found in certain oral cancers is also a sexually transmitted virus.

Now, where do we go from there? You can see the difficulty in proving how the transmission occurs. You cannot put people in cages, make them do certain things, and wait a year.

Look at how difficult it was to prove or disprove how HIV could be transmitted.

I would say that since herpes crosses both ways - from the mouth to the hinterlands - considering that a virus in oral cancer could be sexually transmitted is reasonable. All we have now is the fear, but we don't have enough evidence.

Dean Edell, M.D.