Intraoperative Ultrasound for the Management of Oral Tongue Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

TL;DR

This study shows that intraoperative ultrasound can accurately measure tumor thickness and may improve surgical outcomes in oral tongue cancer.

Contribution

The study provides a meta-analysis showing strong correlation between ultrasound and histopathology measurements in oral tongue cancer.

Findings

IOUS-measured tumor thickness correlates strongly with histopathological measurements (correlation coefficient 0.92).

IOUS-assisted resection results in wider nearest margins compared to conventional resection.

IOUS may offer a more reliable method for achieving clear surgical margins in oral tongue cancer.

Abstract

To evaluate for correlation between intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS)‐measured tumor thickness (TT) (uTT) and histopathological TT (hTT), and to compare IOUS‐assisted resection with conventional resection in patients with oral tongue cancers.

Ovid MEDLINE (1946‐2023), Embase.com (1947‐2023), and Web of Science (All Databases 1900‐2023).

Inclusion criteria were the use of IOUS for the management of oral tongue cancer. Studies that did not report quantitative data were excluded. Additionally, studies that were not contributory to meta‐analysis, or a narrative analysis of pooled results were excluded. Selection was carried out by 2 reviewers. A total of 2417 studies were initially identified, with 12 ultimately being included in this review, and 7 included in the meta‐analysis. Data were extracted by 2 investigators and were pooled using a random‐effects model.

Our meta‐analysis reveals a pooled correlation coefficient of 0.92 (95% confidence interval: 0.80‐0.96) for studies comparing uTT to hTT. Studies comparing IOUS‐assisted resection to conventional resection found IOUS‐assisted resection yielded wider nearest margins in all studies reporting this outcome.

IOUS reliably measures TT, similarly to that of histopathology measurement. IOUS‐assisted resection, which allows the surgeon to view the deep extent of tumor invasion, may increase closest radial margin distance compared to conventional resection. IOUS‐assisted resection may represent a more reliable approach to achieving clear margins than conventional resection.

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