Defining secure surgical bone margins in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: The diagnostic impact of intraoperative cytological assessment of bone resection margins compared with preoperative imaging.

Background: Imaging provides crucial staging information for treatment planning of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Despite technical progress in imaging techniques, defining the extent of bone involvement preoperatively remains challenging and requires intraoperative information to control for adequate resection. The intraoperative cytological assessment of the bone resection margins (ICAB) provides information whether bone is infiltrated by carcinoma.