[Squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth in the elderly in São Paulo].

Objective: To assess the influence of sex and primary tumor location on the outcome of mouth cancer in elderly patients.

Methods: A retrospective study of 1,440 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of mouth in the Head and Neck Department of Heliópolis Hospital, São Paulo during 1978-1997 period. There were 562 elderly patients (aged 60 or more years, according to WHO criteria for developing countries) and 878 patients younger than 60 years old.