Tongue cancer: Do patients younger than 40 do worse?

Abstract

Background: Debate continues as to whether being young confers a worse prognosis for patients with squamos cell carcinoma of the tongue. Recent papers have provided conflicting views in this debate. In this study we aimed to investigate if young age at the time of diagnosis of squamos cell carcinoma of the tongue confers a worse prognosis. Methods: Eligible patients were identified through the computer database of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney. All eligible patients were treated with radical intent. Using age 40 as a cutt off multivariate and survival analysis was undertaken to compare age groups. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 60 years (range, 19-86 years) in 84 males (65 per cent) and 45 females (35 per cent) Median follow-up time was 43 months (range, 2.3-203 months). Fifteen patients (12 per cent) were aged <40 years. On univariate analysis stage and age were significant determinants of disease-spicific survival. There was no difference in overall survival between the young (<40 years) and middle-age groups (40-60 years). However, the young and the middle aged were both more likely to survive than the older age group (>60 years). On multivariate analysis age remained a significant factor for determining disease-spicific survival, with the older age group 2.9 times more likely to die than the younger groups. Conclusion: Young age (<40 years) did not portend to worse survival in comparison to older tongue cancer patients.