Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue in patients younger than 30 years: clinicopathologic features and outcome

Objective: To assess the possible effect of young age on clinical behaviour and survival outcome of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue. Design: Retrospective, case control study. Setting: A major tertiary referral centre. Participants: Eighty-five patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma with at least 2 years of follow-up. Main outcome measurements: Clinical and histopathological staging, disease-free survival, disease-specific survival and overall survival. Results: Eleven patients (13%) were younger than 30 years. Compared to the older patients, they had a significantly worse N stage (P = 0.041), more perineural invasion (P = 0.012), and higher rates, though not significant, of treatment failure (46%, including 60% with distant metastases, versus 35%, nearly all locoregional) and mortality (100% of treatment failures versus 73%). There were no significant between-group differences in 5-year disease-free, disease-specific, and overall survival. Conclusion: In this study, patients younger than 30 years of age presented with advanced tumour stages and with a different failure pattern compared to the older age group. This may be attributable to age-related biologic behaviour or delayed cancer diagnosis. Differences in disease free survival and overall survival could not be established. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.