title: Surgical margins for resection of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.
abstract: A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of 3 mm margins of resection with surgical excision of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip (SCCLL) in its early stages whereby the margins were checked with the systematic use of frozen-section examination. During the period of 1991-1998, 72 consecutive patients with a primary stage I/II SCCLL underwent surgical excision as the initial treatment. There were 58 males (81%) and 14 females (19%) with a median age of 66.8 years (range 37-91 years). The majority of cases (94.4%) were stage I tumours. Treatment consisted of a full-thickness excision including a 3 mm margin of clinically uninvolved tissue. Intraoperative frozen-section analysis of the margins of the excised specimen was used to confirm tumour-free margins. Clinically determined margins were tumour-free in 89.9% on initial excision. The false-positive rate associated with frozen-section analysis was 1.4%. The minimum follow-up period for all patients was 2 years (median 5.1 years, range 2-9 years). Local recurrence was found in two patients (2.8%). A 3 mm margin with excision of early SCCLL seems to be appropriate, if the margins are controlled by systematic use of frozen-section analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. devisscher@tref.nl
authors.forename: J G A M
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: de Visscher
authors.forename: P J J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gooris
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vermey
authors.forename: J L N
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Roodenburg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual / Q000517:prevention & control; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies