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Oral infections with HPV, a family of cancer-causing viruses, are more common than doctors expected, according to the first national study of its kind. And while the viruses can be found in saliva, HPV appears to be mostly spread through sex, rather than more casual contact such as kissing, according to the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. HPV, the human papillomavirus, is best known for causing cervical cancer and genital warts, but it also causes cancers at the back of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue, says study author Maura Gillison, a professor at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.