Tongue squamous cell carcinoma as a possible distinct entity in patients under 40 years old

Much controversy exists in the published literature regarding the clinical course and prognosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in young patients. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the clinical results of tongue SCC in young patients. A total of 176 patients were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups (young and old) according to an age cut-off of 40 years. The χ² test and Kaplan-Meier method were used to analyze the variables. In total, 15 patients were <40 years old and placed into the young group, with five-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rates of 30 and 63%, respectively, compared with 47 and 62%, respectively, in the old group. No significant differences were identified between the RFS and DSS rates of the two groups, however, the young patients exhibited a different failure pattern. Overall, nine out of 10 recurrences in the young group occurred at a primary site compared with 18 out of 70 in the old group (P<0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that gender and differentiation were associated with recurrence and neck nodal involvement. In addition, poor differentiation was found to significantly decrease the DSS time. However, the prognosis of tongue SCC in the young patient group did not appear to differ from that of the old patient group. Furthermore, in the young patient group, local recurrence was the most common failure pattern and tumor differentiation was the most important prognostic factor.