Premium
Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in young patients: A matched‐pair analysis
Author(s) -
Friedlander Paul L.,
Schantz Stimson P.,
Shaha Ashok R.,
Yu Gopei,
Shah Jatin P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0347(199808)20:5<363::aid-hed1>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - medicine , tongue , basal cell , cancer , carcinoma , survival rate , population , retrospective cohort study , tongue neoplasm , disease , surgery , gastroenterology , pathology , environmental health
Background Tongue cancer is seen with increasing frequency in young individuals. There is controversy concerning the clinical course and outcome for oral tongue cancer in young patients. Methods A retrospective review of 36 patients under 40 years of age with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue was performed. These patients were matched to an older population. The 5‐year disease‐free survival; rates of local, regional, and distant failure; and rate of second primary tumor were determined for both populations. Results The 5‐year disease‐free survival for the young patients was 62% versus 69% in the older population ( p = .30). Ten of 36 (28%) of younger patients recurred locally versus five of 36 (14%) of the older patients ( p = .11). Nine of 36 (25%) younger patients recurred regionally in the younger group versus six of 36 (17%) patients in the older group ( p = .25). Sixteen of 36 (44%) of the younger patients had locoregional failure versus eight of 36 (22%) of the older patients ( p < .05). The rates of metastatic disease and second primary lesions were similar in both populations. Conclusions In this series, younger patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue had a higher rate of locoregional recurrence rate than did older patients. This did not translate into a survival difference. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 20: 363–368, 1998.