do patients younger than 40 do worse?
GROUND: Debate continues as to whether being young confers a worse prognosis for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Recent papers have provided conflicting views in this debate. In this study we aimed to investigate if young age at the time of diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue confers a worse prognosis. METHODS: Eligible patients were identified through the computer database of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney. All eligible patients were treated with radical intent. Using age 40 as a cut off multivariate and survival analysis was undertaken to compare age groups. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 60 years (range, 19-86 years) in 84 males (65 per cent) and 45 females (35 per cent). Median follow-up time was 43 months (range, 2.3-203 months). Fifteen patients (12 per cent) were aged <40 years. On univariate analysis stage and age were significant determinants of disease-specific survival. There was no difference in over
