Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol.  2010 Sep;3(3):161-165.

Clinical Outcome of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue in Young Patients: A Stage-Matched Comparative Analysis

• Park JO
• Sun DI
• Cho KJ
• Joo YH
• Yoo HJ
• Kim MS

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The reported incidence of tongue cancer in young patients has recently increased. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of tongue cancer in a young group of patients, and to compare them with those of an older group of tongue cancer patients.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the records of 85 patients who were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. They were divided into two age groups: over 45 years of age and under 45 years. To compare the prognosis of similarly staged patients in the group, each age group was divided into the early (stage I, II) and advanced stage groups (stage III, IV), and then they were compared. The young group consisted of 23 patients and the older group had 62 patients.
RESULTS
At the early stage, the clinical prognosis of the patients in both age groups was good, and no significant difference was observed. However, at the advanced stage, the overall and regional recurrence rates were significantly higher in the younger age group as compared to that in the old age group (P=0.007, P=0.001, respectively). The disease-specific survival rate of the patients in the young group was significantly lower than that in the old age group (P=0.025).
CONCLUSION
Tongue cancer in young subjects has significantly different clinical outcomes according to the stage. The clinical outcome of the advanced-stage tongue cancer in young subjects was poorer than that in the older subjects. Regional recurrence seemed to be the main cause of the poor prognosis.

Keyword

Tongue; Squamous cell carcinoma; Young adult

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Humans
Incidence
Prognosis
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Survival Rate
Tongue
Tongue Neoplasms
Young Adult

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Kaplan-Meier disease-specific survival curve by the age group.

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  Fig. 2 Kaplan-Meier disease-specific survival curve by the age group among the early-stage patients.

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  Fig. 3 Kaplan-Meier disease-specific survival curve by the age group among the advanced-stage patients.

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