COMPARISON OF PROGNOSTIC FACTORS OF ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA BETWEEN YOUNG AND OLDER PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective Biological behavior of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in young patients is controversial. Therefore, this study compared prognostic factors of OSCC between young and older patients, through a systemic review. Study Design Electronic search in the databases Pubmed/Scopus/Ovid/Proquest/Cochrane Library/Web of Science/Lilacs was performed until April 2018, without filters by language or year of publication. Only cohort studies were included and evaluated by Newcastle-Ottawa scale for risk of bias. Analysis of titles and abstracts was made by 2 calibrated researchers (kappa = 0.94). Results A total of 5370 articles were reviewed, and 10 of the most relevant articles that are suitable to the criteria were selected. All included studies had a low risk of bias. Independent of age group, male was more affected, and tongue was anatomic site more frequent. Main risk factors were smoking and alcoholism in both age groups. Most patients in both age groups were diagnosed in early clinical stages (I/II). Regarding to histologic grading, majority of OSCC was classified as moderately differentiated in both age groups. Lower survival was observed in older patients. Conclusions Among all prognostic factors evaluated, survival showed difference in age groups, suggesting, then, that OSCC in older patients could exhibit more aggressive biologic behavior.