[Oral cancer--not only a disease of elder patients with risk factors]

Head and neck cancer is currently the 7th most common malignancy worldwide with more than 600,000 new cases diagnosed each year; oral cancer alone comprises about half of these cases. Tobacco and alcohol are the main etiologic factors for oral cancer. The mean age of patients is 60 years. However, in the recent years, an alarming increase in the incidence of oral cancer among patients younger than 60 years of age with seemingly no relation to the classical etiologic factors, has been reported from several regions, mainly from Western countries. In line with this, we report the case of a non-smoker, non-alcohol user, 26-year old patient who was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue (anterior two-thirds). The tumor mimicked a traumatic ulcer, however immediate biopsy procedure enabled an accurate diagnosis and referral of the patient to treatment without delay.