Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in patients 40 years of age and younger.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is largely a disease of the middle-aged and elderly. When it occurs in younger patients, the prognosis for long-term survival appears to be worse than in the older age group. The records of 41 patients aged 40 years and younger who presented with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were reviewed. Twenty-eight of these patients (68%) developed recurrence; of these, 21 (51%) died with disease, and two are alive with disease. These results indicate a trend toward poorer survival than previous rates reported nationally for all patients with carcinoma of the head and neck over a similar time period. Lesions of the oral tongue, nasopharynx, and paranasal sinuses seem to have a particularly poor prognosis.