Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41273748›Full record

SynthesisMedicina oral, patologia oral y cirugia bucal2026

Impact of surgical margins on recurrence and survival rate in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

A Rubert, L Bagan, A Proaño, G Sarrion, J Bagan

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicina oral, patologia oral y cirugia bucal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

A RubertOral Medicine Unit, Department of Stomatology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Gascó Oliag Street, 1, El Pla del Real, 46010 València. Spain. andrea.rubert@uv.es.
L Bagan
A Proaño
G Sarrion
J Bagan

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for approximately 90% of malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity. At early stages, the treatment of choice is surgical resection with clear margins, commonly defined as ≥5mm of tumor-free tissue. However, the optimal surgical margin in relation to recurrence and survival remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of surgical margin status on local recurrence and overall survival in patients with OSCC through a meta-analysis. MATERIAL AND

methodsAn electronic search was conducted in Medline-PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to January 2025. Two investigators independently selected the studies according to the inclusion criteria. The study included prospective and retrospective studies assessing patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent surgical treatment and reported data regarding surgical margin status, recurrence rates, and survival outcomes. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for non-randomized observational studies. Odds ratios were estimated with 95% confidence intervals, and forest plots were generated using random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analyses depending on heterogeneity. Sensitivity analyses and publication bias analyses were performed using funnel plots and Egger's test. All statistical analyses were conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, version 3.0.

resultsPositive margins (<5mm) were significantly associated with a higher rate of local recurrence (OR=2.72; 95% CI: 2.04-3.62; p<0.001), while negative margins (≥5mm) were linked to a 1.58 -fold increase in the probability of 5-year survival (RR=0.63; 95% CI: 0.55-0.74; p<0.001).

conclusionsSurgical margin status is a prognostic factor for locoregional control and overall survival in OSCC. A cutoff value of ≥5mm is proposed as the optimal surgical margin.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellMargins of ExcisionMouth NeoplasmsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalHumansSurvival Rate

Identifiers

PMID41273748
PMCPMC12983387

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.