title: Outcomes of oral tongue cancer: does age matter?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This is a retrospective study aimed to analyse the outcomes of oral tongue cancer with emphasis on young people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients treated radically between 1998 and 2006 were included and categorised according to treatment modalities (Group A: Surgery, Group B: Surgery and adjuvant therapy, Group C: Definitive radiotherapy) and age groups (≤ 40 and > 40 years). Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 123 patients with 32%, 53% and 15% in Group A, B and C, respectively. Of these, 17 patients (14%) were ≤40 years with 6 (15%), 8 (12%) and 3 (16%) young oral tongues in Group A, B and C, respectively. Five-year OS and DFS were 69%/72%, 41%/47% and 16%/9.5% for Group A, B and C, respectively. Young patients had similar survival as the older population with 5-year OS of 83%, 75% and 33% in Group A, B and C, as compared to the older patients (66%, 36% and 13%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young oral tongue patients did not have worse outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Centre, Singapore. conniesp.yip@gmail.com
authors.forename: Connie S P
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: Tze Choong
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Charn
authors.forename: Joseph T S
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wee
authors.forename: Terence W K
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: Hiang Khoon
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Kam Weng
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Fong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult