Influence of primary tumor surgical margins on overall survival and local recurrence in patients with squamous cell carcinoma: meta-analysis.

Abstract

<h4>Aim</h4>The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the influence of surgical margins on the prognostic parameters of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>The literature review was carried out according to PRISMA principles and the database search was performed using following keywords: "Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (Mesh)", "Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck (Mesh)", "Margins of Excision (Mesh)". The review included studies with humans, published in English, no longer than 10 years ago, in which patients underwent resection of the primary tumour and the resections were examined histologically and the margins between healthy tissues and tumour were speicified.<h4>Results</h4>5 of the included studies examined the impact of surgical margins on overall survival and 10 on local recurrence. In all 5 studies, surgical margins were considered an effective prognostic indicator for the overall survival. Examining the impact of surgical margins on the local recurrence, 7 studies indicated that it is an effective prognostic parameter. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that a 3 mm surgical margin was safe.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Primary tumor surgical margins are an effective prognostic parameter for the overall survival and the local recurrence in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. 3 mm surgical margins can be concidered as a safe distance and minimum acceptable separation point between close and involved margins.