A new study reveals that oral sex increases the risk of developing throat and neck cancer. However, researchers say this seems to only apply to men and not women.

The research by scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV16) in the mouth increases the risk by 22 times than those without it, Latinos Health notes. The acquisition of the virus is said to be associated with oral sex.

The study, which is published in JAMA Oncology last month, states that HPV-16 is a known cause of neck and throat cancers. When it is found in the oral cavity including the soft palate, tonsils and the tongue, it precedes the development of the cancers.

However, researchers who were at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting said that women who have more sexual partners are less at risk for oral cancer while the same cannot be said for men.

Men who have numerous oral sex partners have an increased risk of developing cancers linked to HPV, which is also a commonly transmitted disease. Middle-aged White men in particular have the highest risk among other races.

"Our research shows that for men, the number of oral sex partners - as that number increases, the risk of an oral HPV infection increases," said Gypsyamber D'Souza, epidemiology instructor at Johns Hopkins University, as reported by Daily Mail. "Comparing men and women with the same number of sexual partners, a man is much more likely to become infected with oral HPV than a woman."

She explains that the reason why women have less risk than men is because they develop an immune response to HPV when they are first introduced to it via sexual intercourse. Additionally, men who become infected will have a hard time removing the infection which further increases the risk.

"Men are not only more likely to be infected with oral HPV infection than women, but our research shows that once you become infected, men are less likely to clear this infection than women, further contributing for the cancer risk," she said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed that HPV is a well-known cause of majority of cervical cancers in women and in the vulva and vagina. According to their statistics, there are more than 30,000 HPV-driven cancer cases that occur in the U.S. annually. Just recently, the three-dose series of HPV vaccine has been recommended for U.S. pre-teens in order to protect against infection before they engage in sexual behavior.