Margin to depth of invasion ratio as an indicator for stratifying close margins in early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives: In early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, whether the margin-to-depth-of-invasion ratio (MDR) can assist in stratifying the prognosis remains unclear. Methods: Patients diagnosed with early stage OSCC at National Taiwan University Hospital between January 2007 and December 2021 were reviewed. Patients with margin > 1 mm were classified into two groups: MDR < 0.5 and MDR >= 0.5. Results: We analyzed 911 pT1-2N0M0 OSCC patients, 723 (79.36 %) with MDR >= 0.5 and 188 (20.64 %) with MDR < 0.5. Patients in the MDR < 0.5 group displayed a significantly higher local recurrence rate (odds ratio 2.81, p = 0.002) compared with MDR >= 0.5 group. The 5-year disease-free survival were 80.8 % for clear margin, 76.3 % for close margin (MDR >= 0.5), and 65.2 % for close margin (MDR < 0.5). The overall survival displayed a similar pattern, with 5-year rates of 88.3 % for clear margin, 86.8 % for close margin (MDR >= 0.5), and 75.0 % for close margin (MDR < 0.5). There were no significant overall survival differences between the two MDR >= 0.5 groups, but both were significantly superior to patients with MDR < 0.5 (p = 0.001; p = 0.01). After multivariant cox analysis, MDR < 0.5 was a significant risk factor for disease-free survival (p < 0.001). Conclusion: For early stage OSCC patients without positive margin (<= 1mm), the survival outcome between MDR >= 0.5 group and MDR < 0.5 group was significantly different. The MDR < 0.5 group had significantly higher risk of local recurrence that may warrant adjuvant treatment.