There is a distinct male predominance in head and neck cancers. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical and pathological features of male and female patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and to simultaneously conduct a survival analysis. Patients (n = 2573) were identified between January 2008 and December 2018, and subsequently analyzed for characteristics such as age at squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis, lifestyle factors (smoking habit, betel nut chewing and alcohol consumption), pathological American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) anatomic site, AJCC TNM stage, pathological recurrence factor and interval from first diagnosis to recurrence. A case-matched comparison between female (n = 122) and male (n = 2451) patients was conducted. Significant gender differences were noted in age at diagnosis, anatomic site of the tumor, smoking habit, betel nut chewing and alcohol consumption (p < 0.001). There were no significant gender differences in the other clinical and pathological characteristics and survival conditions. In conclusion, female patients with OSCC were older than male patients with OSCC, and mostly had tumors of the oral tongue. Once patients develop OSCC, there was no difference in survival between men and women in a Taiwanese population.
Keywords: head and neck cancer; lifestyle; squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck; survival analysis.