Conclusion
The mean age at diagnosis has increased in the last 40 years for three of the four HNC evaluated in this study, which is consistent with the aging U.S. population. Oropharyngeal cancer was the only subsite to have an increase in incidence in both males and females with a proportional increase in middle age (40-59 year) patients Cancers of the oral cavity were the only subset of HNC to show a true increase in the proportion of young (0-39 year) patients. Case reports citing more young patients becoming diagnosed with other types of HNC are not currently supported by the data. When stratifying by gender, the proportion of young patients in female HNC cases is much higher than the proportion of young patients in male HNC cases.