Clinico-pathological features of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity in patients <40 years of age

Background: Considerable controversy exists in the literature regarding the clinical course of young patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinico-pathological features of oral SCC among young people. Methods: From a cohort of 529 patients diagnosed with SCC, 35 (6.6%) were under the age of 40 years. This group was compared to a control group of 110 cases aged over 40 to determine if there were any differences in clinicopathological features between the two groups. Results: In the young group there were 20 males and 15 females. The site was most frequently the tongue (51.3%), followed by the floor of the mouth, the buccal mucosa, and the upper and lower alveolus and gingiva. The local and regional control rate was 64.8% which was similar to that of older patients in this series. Conclusions: The prognosis of oral SCC in the young patients does not appear to be different from that of the older population. Univariate analysis showed that clinical stage and the mode of invasion were the most significant prognostic factors in both younger and older patients.