Postoperative pathologic assessment of surgical margins in oral cancer: A contemporary review

Adequacy of resection margins is of utmost importance for decisions regarding postoperative treatment and prediction of prognosis in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, there are differences in opinions about various basic concepts of surgical margins in oral and maxillofacial pathology. Fundamental issues such as concepts of positive or negative surgical margins and impact of epithelial dysplasia at margin require clarification to standardize the practice of postoperative margin surveillance. The issue of postresection tissue shrinkage must be considered and addressed while reporting the status of surgical margin. The current status of “molecular assessment” of resection margins is far from mature and it may expand the horizons of postoperative margin surveillance in future. The present review summarizes the fundamental concepts and methods involved in postoperative assessment of surgical margins in oral and maxillofacial pathology. This will help in understating the rationale of current approach for the assessment of resection margins. Understanding the limitations of the existing approach will also help to improve our practice of postoperative margin surveillance.