Frozen Section in Postmenopausal Women Presented with Suspicious Ovarian Masses, Does It Have a Role?

Abstract

Background: Frozen section (FS) has a valuable role in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors. It is considered a pivotal point in guiding the surgical therapy, particularly in premenopausal women. In postmenopausal women, it may be required as well to avoid unnecessary surgical staging in benign ovarian tumors. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of intraoperative frozen section in ovarian neoplasms in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was done for intraoperative FS for suspected ovarian neoplasms. The study was conducted in Oncology Center, Mansoura University from March 2008 to December 2014. The frozen and paraffin section reports were compared, and overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were determined. Results: The study included 105 patients and the overall accuracy of FS in determining malignancy was 81.7%. The sensitivity for malignant tumors was 75.32% with specificity of 100%. For benign tumors, the sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 93%, respectively. Borderline tumors had the lowest sensitivity of 100% with specificity of 95.19%. Conclusion: The present study concurs that frozen section is an accurate test for diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors in postmenopausal women thus determining the extent of surgery done for them. On the other hand, accuracy rates for borderline tumors are low.