Squamous cell carcinoma of oral tongue in young patients – A 10 years tertiary care experience

Objective: to evaluate the clinical and pathological profile of young patients with squamous cell carcinoma of tongue. methods: the retrospective study was conducted at aga khan university hospital,karachi,and comprised record of patients <35 years presenting with squamous cell carcinoma of tongue between 2001 and 2011. data was extracted from the electronic database of the hospital for site and age. clinico-pathological variables were analysed using spss 20. results: of the 29 patients,17(58.6%) were men and 12(41.3%) were women. the overall mean age at presentation was 29.6+/-4.4 years. all patients (100%) had some sort of addiction,with 15(51.7%) having more than one addiction. of the total,20(68.9%) patients had moderately differentiated carcinoma. at presentation,20(68.9%) had advanced stage (iii-iv) disease. surgery was the primary modality used in all the patients (100%). median follow-up period was 36 months (range: 1-6 years). during follow-up,7(24.1%) patients developed recurrence. conclusions: squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue was more commonly seen in males,and multiple addictions were a common risk factor. © 2016,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.