title: En bloc temporal bone resections in squamous cell carcinoma of the ear. Technique, principles, and limits.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  En bloc resection should always be primarily considered in ear carcinoma, also in advanced tumors growing beyond the walls of the external auditory canal, because it achieves a full specimen for histopathological evaluation and allows a correlation between clinical, pathological features, and outcomes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Dismal outcome of surgical and radiotherapic therapies for advanced ear carcinoma required a critical discussion of the oncological principles of treatment. Our analysis involved preliminarily a detailed description of surgical technique including the contribution of modern skull base microsurgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evident limits in diagnostic protocols, surgical treatment and outcome evaluation modalities pointed to the need of a new approach towards an accurate definition of pre-operative tumor location, size, and behavior. En bloc resection achieved a specimen for a final pathological evaluation and an adjunctive piecemeal excision was necessary only whenever resection was not felt falling in safe, tumor-free tissue. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy should be considered in selected cases for adjuvant treatment.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section , Padova University , Padova , Italy ;|b Formerly Neurosciences Department, Otolaryngology , Ospedali Riuniti , Bergamo , Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section , Padova University , Padova , Italy ;
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zanoletti
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section , Padova University , Padova , Italy ;
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marioni
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section , Padova University , Padova , Italy ;
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martini
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Temporal bone; en bloc resection; squamous cell carcinoma; surgical technique