Intraoperative Margin Assessment Methods in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Key Points

• To evaluate the effectiveness of different intraoperative margin assessment methods in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC).
• Conducted a systematic review of intraoperative margin assessment methods.
• Performed a meta-analysis of frozen margin and tumor bed-based techniques.
• Compared false negative rates, local control, recurrence, and survival outcomes.
• Specimen-based frozen margin analysis showed lower false negative rates.
• Improved local control was observed with frozen margin techniques.
• No significant difference was found in overall recurrence and survival rates between the techniques.