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Cancer causing Virus can be spread by Kissing 
  

July 06, 2002

John Pauk, M.D., M.P.H., formerly of the University of Washington in Seattle, and his associates found out that most cases of new infection of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), which caused an explosion in the number of Kaposi’s sarcoma cases at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the virus was most likely transmitted through saliva. This cancer-causing form of herpes disproportionately affects homosexual men. 
This study was done on 27 homosexual men. Comparing the sexual history of these patients with those of other homosexual men who were not infected with HHV-8, Pauk found that “deep” kissing (in which saliva is exchanged) with an HIV-positive partner or a partner with Kaposi’s sarcoma and the use of amyl nitrate capsules (“poppers”) or inhaled nitrates (both used to enhance the sexual experience) were associated with an increased risk of infection.
Kaposi’s sarcoma is a cancer of blood vessels that affects mostly the skin and was very rare in the United States before the AIDS epidemic. The disease usually progresses slowly and can remain stable for years or decades. However, the skin tumors do have a substantial impact on quality of life in these patients, due both to the stigma associated with the visible skin tumors and the pain they can cause.

The cancer usually occurs in people with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS or patients who are on immune-suppressing drugs following an organ transplant. The disease is rarely fatal and can often be successfully treated with chemotherapy or other therapies.