Diagnostic accuracy of frozen section in ovarian masses: an experience at tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Frozen section is quick and reliable technique for urgent tissue diagnosis i.e. on table diagnosis. In ovarian neoplasms different categories i.e. benign, borderline and malignant tumors are surgically treated differently. In such situations, frozen section is very helpful and can changes the surgical management of patients. In the present study we evaluate diagnostic accuracy of frozen section in ovarian neoplasms.

Patients and methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted at department of pathology of Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, from 01-06-2013 to 31-05-2015. This study comprised of 70 patients having ovarian masses on abdominal ultrasonography and planned to undergo surgery. The participants were operated and frozen sections of all the fresh specimens were performed at Pathology Department. The specimens were then fixed and paraffin sections were prepared for evaluation of histopathological changes.

Results: Out of total 70 cases (patient age range 10-82 years) 25 (35.7%) were malignant, 3 (4.3%) were borderline and 42 (60%) were benign. In FS analy­sis, 24 (34.3%) cases were diagnosed as malignant, 5 (7.1%) as borderline and 41 (58.6%) as benign. There were disagreements between diagnoses of frozen section and permanent paraffin sections in 04 (5.71%) cases. The overall accuracy of frozen section diagnosis was 97.10 %. The sensitivity of FS for all three categories i.e. benign, borderline and malignant lesions was 100%, 75% and 96%; and specificities were 97.6%, 100% and 100% respectively.

Conclusion: Frozen section is a reliable and precise technique in the intraoperative evaluation of patients with suspicious ovarian masses