Oral tongue cancer in the young

Abstract

Objectives: The incidence of oral cancer in young adults is rising. There is ongoing controversy as to whether age affects prognosis in oral cancer. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of patient age on overall survival in a large series of patients with oral tongue cancer. Methods: In this retrospective study oral tongue cancer patients were identified through the institutional tumor registry and patient databases of the Department of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery. We chose 45 years of age as a cut-off between “young” and “old” patients. Statistical analysis was undertaken to compare age the groups for risk factors, tumor stage, grade and survival. Results: There were 57 younger patients and 113 older patients. 57.9% of patients under 45 were smokers and 45.6% were regular alcohol drinkers. 69% of patients over 45 were smokers and 61.9% were regular alcohol drinkers. There was no difference in cancer stage at diagnosis in both groups (stage I 38.6% <45; 38.1% >45). There was a slight difference in tumor grade with 21.05% of the young patients and 16.8% of the older patients having well differentiated tumors. There was a difference in overall survival with a mean survival of 81.82 months for patients under 45 and 52.12 months for patients over 45 ( P = 0.00546) Conclusion: We found patients younger than 45 less likely to have been smokers or alcohol drinkers, to have a greater percentage of well-differentiated tumors and to have a more favorable survival rate in comparison to older tongue cancer patients.