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Oral sex aids in the transfer of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) to the throat, and the presence of HPV is thought to be a virus that can cause over 60% of all types of throat cancer.
In a 2007 study at the University of Malmö in Sweden they found that over 35 % of people with throat cancer (the test group) had the virus, while of the control group (people without cancer) only 1% carried the virus.
So (as far as they know) there isn't a direct link between oral sex and cancer, there is however, a direct link between oral sex and HPV.
HPV is linked to several kinds of cancer (cervical cancer is a main concern), and is transferred by unprotected sex. Higher numbers of sexual partners correlate with high risk of HPV.
Over half of all sexually active people will have a HPV but most kinds of HPV (there are over a 100) are harmless and without symptoms and go away on its own. Some HPV types cause genial warts etc.
There was an interesting article in the New England Journal of Medicine on this topic.
I find this a very interesting topic as in Dutch schools they started to educate on this issue along with other STDs in health classes and the government is contemplating nationwide vaccination among teenagers. There is supposedly a vaccine that could prevent 90% of HPV cases, if vaccinated before the first transfer.
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