What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate whether adjuvant therapy provides a survival benefit for patients with T4aN0M0 gingival squamous cell carcinoma after surgery.

March 7, 2026Open Access

Surgery alone achieves comparable survival to adjuvant therapy in T4aN0M0 gingival squamous cell carcinoma with clear surgical margins: A registry-based propensity-matched analysis

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy does not improve survival compared to surgery alone in patients with T4aN0M0 gingival squamous cell carcinoma with clear surgical margins. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

Key Points

To evaluate whether adjuvant therapy provides a survival benefit for patients with T4aN0M0 gingival squamous cell carcinoma after surgery.
Registry-based analysis of patients with T4aN0M0 GSCC
Comparison of outcomes between surgery alone and adjuvant therapy
Propensity matching to reduce bias in comparisons
Surgery alone achieved comparable survival rates to adjuvant therapy
Adjuvant radiation therapy or chemotherapy did not improve outcomes
Findings suggest reconsideration of routine adjuvant therapy in this patient population

Abstract

For patients with T4aN0M0 GSCC and clear surgical margins, adjuvant RT/CRT did not confer a survival advantage over surgery alone, suggesting limited benefit of routine adjuvant therapy in this setting. Prospective studies are needed to validate this finding and to refine evidence-based risk stratification models.

Surgery alone achieves comparable survival to adjuvant therapy in T4aN0M0 gingival squamous cell carcinoma with clear surgical margins: A registry-based propensity-matched analysis

Key Points

Abstract

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