Intraoperative Assessment of Surgical Margins of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Using Frozen Sections: A Practical Clinicopathological Management for Recurrences

BACKGROUND Local recurrence remains a challenging clinical issue for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We analyzed retrospectively how effective the frozen section technique (FS) was against recurrences of oral SCC. METHODS We screened 343 surgical samples from 236 patients who had oral SCC, carcinoma in situ (CIS), or epithelial dysplasia, and we followed up their clinical outcomes for at least 5 years. Histopathological states of surgical margins were compared between FS and surgical materials in relapse and relapse-free groups, respectively. RESULTS Among the 236 patients, 191 were classified into the relapse-free group, and 45 into the relapse group. FS was more frequently performed in the relapse-free group (128/191) than in the relapse group (83/152). Histopathologically, moderate dysplasia or CIS (borderline malignancies) and SCC were recognized in 55 samples of the relapse-free group and in 57 of the relapse group. For those surgical margins with borderline malignancies, additional incisions were performed in 38 of the 55 relapse-free cases, which reduced to 20 from the 38 margins with borderline malignancies (47.4% reduction), and in 39 of the 57 relapse cases, which reduced to only 3 of 39 (7.7% reduction). CONCLUSIONS The intraoperative assessment of surgical margins by FS is essential in preventing recurrences of oral mucosal malignancies.