Tongue cancer survival rate

Tongue cancer is an extremely uncommon cancer in the United States, diagnosed with the frequency of other rare cancers, such as Hodgkin's lymphoma and testicular cancer. In sum, approximately 11,000 diagnoses of tongue cancer are expected annually in the US, with about 1,990 people expected to succumb from the disease. It is a far more common cancer among men than among women, with almost 70% of all new cases found in men and the remainder in women.

Incidence and mortality from tongue cancer

The median age at diagnosis with tongue cancer is 61. The age group in which tongue cancer is most commonly diagnosed is between the ages of 55 and 64, with almost one-third of all cases discovered in this age group.

The median age at death from tongue cancer is 66. The rates of death from tongue cancer among men and women is extremely small, with about .9 men of all races per 100,000 and .4 of women of all races per 100,000 expected to die from the disease.

Tongue cancer survival rates by stage

The following statistics show the extent to which the cancer is known to have spread (local, regional, metastatic, and unknown or undocumented at time of presentation), followed by what is known as a 5-year survival relative percentage—this number represents the percentage of people who are expected to be alive 5 years following their diagnosis at each disease stage (surviving a cancer for five years generally constitutes a 'cure' in biostatistics).

• -- Localized disease: 77.2%
• -- Regional disease: 56.1%
• -- Metastatic disease: 30.6%
• -- Stage unknown: 51.8%

Although tongue cancer is not the most treatable and survivable of diseases, as one can see from the data, the 5 year rates are relatively high, even among patients with metastatic disease: compare 30.6% with 5 year rates for highly deadly cancers, such as pancreatic cancer (1.8%). That said, like all other cancers, the highest survival rates are always associated with early stages, stressing the importance of screening and other preventive measures for those in the population considered in higher risk groups than others.

Sources

National Cancer Institute SEER Stat Fact Sheets: Tongue cancer

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