Asian Journal of Medicine and Health

Background: Patients diagnosed with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) face a significant risk of recurrence with early treatment. Early recurrence detection potentially improves patient outcomes. Controversy exists over whether younger patients could be prioritized to be primarily treated for better outcomes. This study aims to determine the association between age and one-year recurrence of OCSCC, and factors related to the early recurrence were explored.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was designed to compare the year recurrence of OCSCC patients based on data between 1 April 2012 and 1 April 2022, from the head and neck cancer referral center registry, Rajavithi Hospital. Cases were defined as patients with one-year recurrence, and controls were matched and defined as those who did not have recurrence after one year of treatment.  The associations between age and other factors and recurrence in the first year after treatment were assessed. Multivariable analysis was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to estimate the risk of each factor on recurrence.

Results: Overall, 68 cases and 152 controls were collected. The mean±SD of participants' ages was 56.52±12.97 years and 58.16±12.90 years for the case and control group, respectively, and over 60% of both groups were male. Results indicated that age was not significantly different between the groups. Factors associated with recurrence in one year after treatment of OCSCC were those having positive nodal metastasis for the treatment N-stage (Adjusted OR 2.24 [95% CI 1.04-4.83]; p=0.040) and non-treatment completion (Adjusted OR 4.02 [95% CI 1.24-13.03]; p=0.020).

Conclusion: Age is not an associated factor of early recurrence of OCSCC and should not be used for prioritizing the early treatment. The nodal metastasis and treatment completion should be considered for increasing survival rates and better outcomes.