Tongue cancer in young patients: case report of a 26-year-old patient.

INTRODUCTION: This article presents the case of a 26-year-old woman with tongue cancer. The median age at the diagnosis of the tongue's cancer is 61 years. Only approximately 2% of patients are diagnosed before the age of 35.

CASE PRESENTATION: Our patient survived acute myeloid leukemia (AML) before her second year. She had been having recurrent, poorly healing aphtae on the right side of the tongue for a period of months before the symptoms of the tongue cancer appeared. As a treatment a partial glossectomy was conducted on the right side and a neck dissection of levels I-III. Than a reconstruction of the tongue with a radialis free vascularised flap from left side was performed.

DISCUSSION: It should be always looked for the causal factor in young patients with a neoplasm. There is strong evidence for second malignant neoplasms in survivors of childhood cancer.