Early invasive squamous cell carcinoma recurrence rates: A study examining surgical margins, tumor surface diameter, invasion depth, and grade of differentiation in 1296 cases over 9 years.

We found a recurrence rate of 1.0% for histopathologic margins of 1.5 mm with early well-differentiated SCC. The grade of differentiation and anatomic site had a larger influence on recurrence rates compared to the histopathologic margins. Poorly differentiated SCC and ear or lip sites require wider surgical margins.