Age-related differences in tongue squamous cell carcinoma: Insights from propensity score-matched analyses

Introduction Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is the most prevalent oral cancer in Japan, and its incidence is increasing in adolescents and young adults (AYA). Therefore, investigation of the clinicopathological features and prognosis of AYA with TSCC (AYA-TSCC) is required to establish new treatment strategies for this population. Patients and Methods This retrospective study included AYA (age, 15–39 years) and older adults (age, 60–79 years) with TSCC treated between 2000 and 2019. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for confounding factors. The clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses of the overall cohort (OC) and PSM cohort (PSMC) were assessed using univariate and multivariate analyses and compared between the groups. Results In OC, the AYA group had a significantly higher proportion of females than the older group. However, the clinical T classification, frequency of clinical lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, and frequency of neck dissection were not significantly different between the groups. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates in OC and PSMC were lower in the AYA group than in the older group. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that YK classification was a significant factor in the prognostic model for both DFS and OS in PSMC, rather than any factors including generation. Conclusions In this study, generation was not a significant factor in the cohort in which background factors were strictly matched using PSM. However, further studies are required to elucidate the clinical significance and unique tumor biology of AYA-TSCC.