Characteristics of Oral Tongue and Base of the Tongue Cancer: A Hospital Cancer Registry Based Analysis

BACKGROUND: Tongue cancer is one of the leading sites of cancer in our population. AIM: To evaluate the socio-demographic profiles and stages at diagnosis of oral tongue (OT) and base of tongue (BT) cancers, and identify any possible variations in characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on tongue cancer cases, divided into OT and BT, registered at the hospital cancer registry of North-East India during January 2010 to May 2013. Cases were analyzed for age, gender, residential status and different levels of education for patients, the stage at diagnosis and presence of distant metastasis. RESULTS: A total of 1,113 cases of tongue cancers were registered, 846(76.1%) of BT and 267(23.9%) of OT. While 33.9% of BT cancer patients were above 65 years of age, the figure for OT cancers was 18.4%, stages III and IV accounting for 90.8% and 77%, respectively. The relative risk for distant metastasis in OT cancers was 3.3 (95% CI 1.08-10.1, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In the subsites of tongue cancers in our population, the majority arose from the base of tongue, these tending to occur in older individuals and presenting at late stage.