Prognostic Value of a Family History of Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Matched‐Pair Study

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To analyze the prognostic value of a family cancer history for predicting survival in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. METHODS: Each patient with a family history was paired with one patient with sporadic oral tongue SCC without a family history. The primary endpoint was disease-specific survival (DSS). RESULTS: In total, 124 patients were enrolled as participants with a family cancer history, and the 5-year DSS rate was 51%. In the matched group, the 5-year DSS rate was 40%. The difference was significant (P = .032). In the smoking patients with a family history, the 5-year DSS rate was 43%. In the smoking patients from the matched group, the 5-year DSS rate was 17%; the difference was significant (P = .028). In nonsmoking patients with a history of cancer, the 5-year DSS rate was 51%; in nonsmoking patients in the matched group, the 5-year DSS rate was 40%; the difference was not significant (P = .141). CONCLUSIONS: A family cancer history is associated with improved DSS in surgically treated oral tongue SCC patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 130:E605-E610, 2020.