Pre-surgical Tumor Marking by Tattooing in Patients Offered with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (Nact) for Advance Staged Oral Carcinomas.

ABSTRACT

We described a novel technique of marking the oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tumors before the pre-operative neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). The pre-operative NACT may shrink the tumor, making it difficult for the oncosurgeon to identify the pre-NACT tumor area to be included in the surgical resection. Difficulty lies in exact topographic replication/documentation of examination findings on superficial or mucosal surface levels, primarily due to limited surface landmarks. This technique helps to identify the pre-NACT tumor margins during surgical resection and to achieve maximum oncological safety and refining surgical planning.