CASE-CONTROL STUDY ON PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA IN YOUNG PATIENTS

Background. Oral squamous cell carcinoma affects mainly patients between the fifth and sixth decades of life, being rare in the young (<= 40 years old). Methods. Demographic, clinical, and pathologic features, and the long-term survival of 125 patients younger than 41 years of age were compared with 250 control patients older than 50 years old. Data were submitted to Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests. Results. The percentage of nonsmokers was higher in the younger patients (p = .04). In the younger patients, tumors at advanced clinical stage (p < .01) and poorly differentiated tumors (p = .01) were associated with a higher risk of recurrence. The relapse rate was higher in the younger patients (p = .02); however, there was no significant difference on overall survival (p = .86). The younger patients diagnosed after the 1990s had less advanced clinical stage tumors, had an increase in the use of combination of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, and their overall survival was improved. Conclusion. This study emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of oral squamous cell car-cinoma. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 32: 1460-1466, 2010