Premium
Resection margins in oral cancer surgery: Room for improvement
Author(s) -
Smits Roeland W.H.,
Koljenović Senada,
Hardillo Jose A.,
ten Hove Ivo,
Meeuwis Cees A.,
Sewnaik Aniel,
Dronkers Emilie A.C.,
Bakker Schut Tom C.,
Langeveld Ton P.M.,
Molenaar Jan,
Hegt V. Noordhoek,
Puppels Gerwin J.,
Baatenburg de Jong Robert J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.24075
Subject(s) - medicine , margin (machine learning) , resection , distant metastasis , cancer , head and neck , cancer surgery , oral cancers , head and neck cancer , resection margin , surgery , overall survival , metastasis , general surgery , radiation therapy , machine learning , computer science
The purpose of this review was to identify publications on resection margins in oral cancer surgery and compare these with the results from 2 Dutch academic medical centers. Eight publications were considered relevant for this study, reporting 30% to 65% inadequate resection margins (ie, positive and close margins), compared to 85% in Dutch centers. However, clinical outcome in terms of overall survival and recurrence seemed comparable. The misleading difference is caused by lack of unanimous margin definition and differences in surgicopathological approaches. This prevents comparison between the centers. Data from Dutch centers showed that inadequate resection margins have a significantly negative effect on local recurrence, regional recurrence, distant metastasis, and overall survival. These results confirm the need for improvement in oral cancer surgery. We underline the need for consistent protocols and optimization of frozen section procedures. We comment on development of optical techniques for intraoperative assessment of resection margins. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38 : E2197–E2203, 2016