Surgical Principles and Approaches to Gingivobuccal Cancers

Surgical management of gingivobuccal cancers presents unique challenges due to complex anatomy and aggressive tumor behavior. This subset of oral cavity cancer frequently demonstrates extension into critical structures, submucosal spread, and bony invasion. This article reviews the general principles as well as surgical approaches associated with these cancers. En bloc resection remains the foundation of primary management, with individualized approaches based on tumor location, stage, and depth of invasion. Achieving negative surgical margins is critical for local control, with emerging evidence supporting dynamic margin assessment strategies and imaging-guided techniques.