Changing epidemiology of oral squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: A global study

BACKGROUND: There are reports about the changing epidemiology of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with recent reports indicating an increasing incidence in young women. METHODS: Data on incident cases of tongue SCC were collected from cancer registries worldwide. RESULTS: Data from a total of 22 cancer registries and 89,212 incident cases of tongue SCC worldwide were included. Most areas experienced an incidence increase ranging from 0.4% to 3.3% per year. There was a significant difference in the incidence increase between sexes in 11 of the 22 registries. In 14 of the 22 registries studied, the increase in incidence of tongue SCC was higher in the group of subjects <45 years old than those ≥45 years old. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a general but not universal increase in the incidence of tongue SCC worldwide. In some regions of the world, we observed a shifting trend toward women and/or younger patients. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 297-304, 2017.