Background: The impact of additional soft tissue resection on recurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains controversial. The study aim was to compare recurrence between patients with secondary tumor-free resection margins after intraoperative additional resection (STF-RM) and patients with primary tumor-free resection margins without additional resection (PTF-RM).
Methods: Forty-five patients with STF-RM were matched with patients with PTF-RM according to Union for International Cancer Control stage, tumor location, and treatment modality and compared for local, regional, and distant recurrence.
Results: Patients with STF-RM showed lower local and distant control rates compared to patients with PTF-RM (66.2% vs. 82.8%; p = 0.045 and 86.3% vs. 100.0%; p = 0.021). STF-RM was the only predictor of local recurrence accounting for tumor (T) status, nodal (N) status, tumor grade, margin distance, and extracapsular extension (hazard ratio 4.21 [95% confidence interval 1.26-14.04]; p = 0.019).
Conclusions: STF-RM have an adverse impact on local and distant recurrence of OSCC.
Keywords: R0-resection; oral squamous cell carcinoma; primary tumor-free resection margins; recurrence; secondary tumor-free resection margins.
© 2022 The Authors. Head & Neck published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.