[Patients under 45 years of age "young adults" with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Retrospective, multivariable analysis--preliminary report ].

There is a clear tendency to diagnose squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck more frequently in patients below 45 years of age. These neoplasms in "young adults" seem to be more aggressive with rapid progression, frequent reappearance after treatment and worse prognosis than is observed in older patient population. This preliminary report presents results of retrospective, multivariable analysis of patients below 45 years of age with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The special focus of the study were: disease progression (T), regional node and distant metastases (N,M), tobacco and alcohol consumption, environmental factors, concomitant diseases, kind of surgical technique and tumour histology.