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Anatomical locations in the oral cavity where surgical resections of oral squamous cell carcinomas are associated with a close or positive margin—a retrospective study

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A Correction to this article was published on 12 December 2018

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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to identify anatomical areas where resections of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are significantly associated with close or positive margins.

Materials and methods

This retrospective study included 330 patients with a primary OSCC from 2010 to 2015. Patient and tumour data were categorised into three groups by R-status (R0 [clear], ≥ 5 mm, 185 patients [56.06%]; R1 [positive], < 1 mm, 24 patients [7.27%]; and R0 [close], 1–5 mm, 121 patients [36.67%]).

Results

Areas where resections were significantly associated with close or positive margins were the hard palate (p < 0.001), buccal mucosa (p = 0.03), floor of the mouth (p = 0.004), lower alveolar ridge (p = 0.01), retromolar triangle (p = 0.005), and dorsal tongue (p = 0.02).

Conclusions

Anatomical areas were identified in the oral cavity where it is challenging to resect OSCCs with an adequate safety margin.

Clinical relevance

These results may enable surgeons to achieve a postulated safe distance during tumour resection, leading to a survival benefit for patients.

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Change history

  • 12 December 2018

    The following note was inadvertently omitted from the published paper: This work was performed in (partial) fulfillment of the requirements for the first author’s obtaining the degree Dr. med. dent.

  • 12 December 2018

    The following note was inadvertently omitted from the published paper: This work was performed in (partial) fulfillment of the requirements for the first author?s obtaining the degree Dr. med. dent.

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Funding

This work was funded by the “Verein zur Förderung des Tumorzentrums der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg e.V.” (KC 35412066).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Glückstrasse 11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Florian Alexander Kerker, Tobias Moest, Matthias C. Wurm, Friedrich Wilhelm Neukam & Cornelius von Wilmowsky

  2. Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Waldstraße 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Werner Adler

  3. Department of Pathology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Krankenhausstraße 8-10, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Kathrin Brunner

  4. Department of Cranio-, Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Emeka Nkenke

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  1. Florian Alexander Kerker
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Correspondence to Cornelius von Wilmowsky.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Kerker, F.A., Adler, W., Brunner, K. et al. Anatomical locations in the oral cavity where surgical resections of oral squamous cell carcinomas are associated with a close or positive margin—a retrospective study. Clin Oral Invest 22, 1625–1630 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-018-2424-z

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