title: Resection margins in oral cancer surgery: Room for improvement.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Dermatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roeland W H
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.affiliation: Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Dermatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Senada
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koljenović
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hardillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Dermatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ten Hove
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cees A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Meeuwis
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aniel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sewnaik
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Emilie A C
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Dronkers
authors.affiliation: Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Dermatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tom C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Bakker Schut
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Leiden University, Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ton P M
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Langeveld
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology Documentation, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Molenaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: V Noordhoek
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Hegt
authors.affiliation: Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy, Department of Dermatology, Erasmus University Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerwin J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Puppels
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Baatenburg de Jong
mesh_terms: D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D000072662:Margins of Excision; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: head and neck cancer; mouth neoplasms; oral cancer; oral surgery; squamous cell carcinoma