Intraoral Sonography–Assisted Resection of T1–2 tongue Cancer for Adequate deep Resection

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the clinical usefulness of intraoral sonography-assisted resection for securing adequate deep resection margins in T1–2 tongue cancers.

Study Design

Prospective clinical trial.

Materials and Methods

Twenty consecutive patients with clinical T1–2 tongue cancers were enrolled and their lesions were removed by intraoral sonography-assisted resection. We then retrospectively collected data from 20 T stage-matched patients without intraoral sonography-assisted resection as the control group. All resections were performed with a goal of 15 mm margin. The mucosal and deep safety margins were compared between the two groups.

Results

Intraoral sonography could predict the paraffin-embedded tumor thickness with an error of 3.16 ± 2.24 mm. The deep safety margins were more adequate for intraoral sonography–assisted resection (9.8 ± 5.2 mm) than for conventional resection (4.0 ± 2.03 mm) (P < 0.001), while the mucosal safety margins were not different

Conclusion

Intraoral sonography-assisted resection provides a more adequate deep resection margin for early T-stage tongue cancers.