Gross Examinations Versus Frozen Section for Assessment of Surgical Margins in Oral Cancers

NCT ID: NCT04809324

Last Updated: 2025-04-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1206 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-11-15

Study Completion Date

2028-06-30

Brief Summary

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Surgical margin is a significant prognostic factor in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC)\[1,2,3\]. Intra-operative frozen section (FS) has been routinely used by the surgeons to achieve adequate surgical margins. However published literature has failed to show a conclusive benefit of FS in improving oncological outcomes(4-7). The overall identification rate of the inadequate margins by FS is variable with figures in the literature ranging from25-34%.(8-10)

Revision of margins based on FS is widely practiced in centers where facility for FS is available. However this has not shown to significantly improve local control when compared to cases in which FS was not utilized , in a comparative study done at Tata memorial Hospital(TMH) (5) More-over FS is a costly procedure, and sparsely available in resource- poor countries. In a recently conducted retrospective study of 1237 patients conducted at TMH, the cost benefit ratio of FS for assessment of margin is as low as 12:1(11). In another prospective study performed at the same center , investigators found that gross examination (GE) of margins by the surgeons was as effective as FS, and achievement of gross 7mm margin all around the tumor obviated the need for FS (12). In a recent meta-analysis of 8 studies that looked at the utility of frozen section and had uniformity in frozen section analysis and definition of close margins, they concluded that revision of margins based on FS does not improve oncological outcomes and further prospective studies are needed to explore this contentious issue (13). With this background, a prospective RCT is planned to explore if gross examination by surgeon and subsequent revision of margin (if necessary) is an equally effective alternative to Frozen section based revision in a randomized controlled trial.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Oral Cavity Cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Caregivers
patient and the treating clinician will not be aware of the randomisation allocation(gross examination or frozen section) prior to resection of the tumour specimen

Study Groups

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Gross examination

measurement of the surgical margins will be done by the surgeon in the operating room using sterile scale after resection of the primary tumor .

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Gross examination of the resection specimen

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

measurement of the surgical margin by the operating surgeon using sterile scale, margins \<7mm will be revised on table

Frozen section

frozen section examination of surgical margins will be done by the pathologist.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Frozen section

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

frozen section evaluation of the specimen by the pathologist

Interventions

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Gross examination of the resection specimen

measurement of the surgical margin by the operating surgeon using sterile scale, margins \<7mm will be revised on table

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Frozen section

frozen section evaluation of the specimen by the pathologist

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Biopsy proven treatment naïve cases of OCSCC who are planned for curative surgery with en-bloc removal of the tumor with adequate margin
2. In detail assessment of the primary tumor is possible pre-operatively
3. Written informed consent
4. Age more than 18 years

Exclusion Criteria

1. Multifocal disease
2. Clinically evident field cancerization
3. Previous treatment for oral cavity cancer - Surgery /chemo or radiotherapy -
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

100 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Dr.Pankaj Chaturvedi

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Dr.Pankaj Chaturvedi

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi ,Prof. and Surgeon, Dept of Head Neck Surgery

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Pankaj Chaturvedi, MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Tata Memorial Centre

Locations

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Tata Memorial Hospital

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Site Status RECRUITING

ACTREC,Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer

Navi Mumbai, Raigad, India

Site Status RECRUITING

Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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India

Central Contacts

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Pankaj Chaturvedi, MS

Role: CONTACT

+91 02224177189

Vidisha V Tuljapurkar, MS MCh

Role: CONTACT

+91 02224177187

Facility Contacts

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Pankaj Chaturvedi, MS

Role: primary

+91 9869486912

Deepa Nair, MS,DNB

Role: backup

+91 0222 02224177282

Sudhir Nair, MS

Role: primary

9769617780

Assem Mishra, MS,MCh

Role: primary

8080611946

References

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Looser KG, Shah JP, Strong EW. The significance of "positive" margins in surgically resected epidermoid carcinomas. Head Neck Surg. 1978 Nov-Dec;1(2):107-11. doi: 10.1002/hed.2890010203.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 755803 (View on PubMed)

Loree TR, Strong EW. Significance of positive margins in oral cavity squamous carcinoma. Am J Surg. 1990 Oct;160(4):410-4. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9610(05)80555-0.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 2221245 (View on PubMed)

Chen TY, Emrich LJ, Driscoll DL. The clinical significance of pathological findings in surgically resected margins of the primary tumor in head and neck carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1987 Jun;13(6):833-7. doi: 10.1016/0360-3016(87)90095-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3583852 (View on PubMed)

Pathak KA, Nason RW, Penner C, Viallet NR, Sutherland D, Kerr PD. Impact of use of frozen section assessment of operative margins on survival in oral cancer. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2009 Feb;107(2):235-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tripleo.2008.09.028. Epub 2008 Dec 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19071037 (View on PubMed)

Mair M, Nair D, Nair S, Dutta S, Garg A, Malik A, Mishra A, Shetty Ks R, Chaturvedi P. Intraoperative gross examination vs frozen section for achievement of adequate margin in oral cancer surgery. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2017 May;123(5):544-549. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2016.11.018. Epub 2016 Dec 7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28159583 (View on PubMed)

Kovacs AF. Relevance of positive margins in case of adjuvant therapy of oral cancer. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2004 Jul;33(5):447-53. doi: 10.1016/j.ijom.2003.10.015.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15183407 (View on PubMed)

Scholl P, Byers RM, Batsakis JG, Wolf P, Santini H. Microscopic cut-through of cancer in the surgical treatment of squamous carcinoma of the tongue. Prognostic and therapeutic implications. Am J Surg. 1986 Oct;152(4):354-60. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(86)90304-1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3766863 (View on PubMed)

DiNardo LJ, Lin J, Karageorge LS, Powers CN. Accuracy, utility, and cost of frozen section margins in head and neck cancer surgery. Laryngoscope. 2000 Oct;110(10 Pt 1):1773-6. doi: 10.1097/00005537-200010000-00039.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11037842 (View on PubMed)

Ord RA, Aisner S. Accuracy of frozen sections in assessing margins in oral cancer resection. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1997 Jul;55(7):663-9; discussion 669-71. doi: 10.1016/s0278-2391(97)90570-x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9216496 (View on PubMed)

Ribeiro NF, Godden DR, Wilson GE, Butterworth DM, Woodwards RT. Do frozen sections help achieve adequate surgical margins in the resection of oral carcinoma? Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2003 Apr;32(2):152-8. doi: 10.1054/ijom.2002.0262.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12729775 (View on PubMed)

Datta S, Mishra A, Chaturvedi P, Bal M, Nair D, More Y, Ingole P, Sawakare S, Agarwal JP, Kane SV, Joshi P, Nair S, D'Cruz A. Frozen section is not cost beneficial for the assessment of margins in oral cancer. Indian J Cancer. 2019 Jan-Mar;56(1):19-23. doi: 10.4103/ijc.IJC_41_18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30950438 (View on PubMed)

Chaturvedi P, Datta S, Nair S, Nair D, Pawar P, Vaishampayan S, Patil A, Kane S. Gross examination by the surgeon as an alternative to frozen section for assessment of adequacy of surgical margin in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck. 2014 Apr;36(4):557-63. doi: 10.1002/hed.23313. Epub 2013 Jun 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23765548 (View on PubMed)

Bulbul MG, Tarabichi O, Sethi RK, Parikh AS, Varvares MA. Does Clearance of Positive Margins Improve Local Control in Oral Cavity Cancer? A Meta-analysis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Aug;161(2):235-244. doi: 10.1177/0194599819839006. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30912991 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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CTRI/2021/03/032015

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

protocol no 3541

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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