Histopathological Margins and Recurrence Risk in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Is 3 mm Enough?

BACKGROUND: Among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), achieving adequate histopathological resection margins is critical to reduce recurrence risk. Although a ≥5 mm margin is the accepted standard, recent discussions suggest that smaller margins, such as ≥3 mm, may offer comparable oncologic outcomes. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of histopathological margin width in patients with OSCC and to potentially minimize the risk of overtreatment. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Center. Patients ≥18 years who underwent primary surgical resection for OSCC between January 2014 and December 2018 were included. The exclusion criteria were recurrent disease, incomplete pathology reports, or nonconfirmed malignancy. PREDICTOR VARIABLE: The predictor variable was histologic resection margin, and subjects were grouped into 3 groups based on histopathological resection margin: group 1: