Compatibility of the frozen section method in histopathological specimens for female pelvic masses with results for pathology and tumor markers

Detection of pelvic masses is of great value for scheduling a proper treatment process and is an important factor for detection. Frozen section is a diagnostic method for the evaluation of pelvic tumors during surgery. The purpose of this study was to measure the compatibility of the frozen section method for histopathological specimens of female pelvic masses with pathologic results of tumor markers.

This retrospective study was performed on 188 female pelvic mass specimens during 2014-2016. Medical files for all patients with injury of female genital system who had undergone frozen section surgery was compared with the results of pathology and tumor marker tests. SPSS version 19 was used for statistical analysis. The results were analyzed by Kappa test.

Based on the final pathology of the 188 specimens, 150 (79.8%) were benign, 8 (4.2%) intermediate, and 30 (16%) malignant. Sensitivity, specificity, and validity of frozen section in benign tumors were calculated as follow: 96.7 Confidence Interval (CI95% : 92.6–98.9%), 97 (CI95%: 84.7–99.9%), and 96.8%; in intermediate tumors, the respective numbers were: 71.4 (CI95% :29–96.3%), 98.3 (CI95% :95, 2–99%, 7%), and 97.3%; and in the malignant tumors the numbers were: 96.3 (CI95% :81.9–99%), 97.4 (CI95% :93. 4–99.3%), and 97.2%. Positive and negative predictive values were calculated as follow: 99.3 (CI95% :96.3–99.9%) and 86.8% (CI95% :71.9–95.6%) in benign tumors; 62.5 (CI95% :24.5–91.5%) and 98.9% (CI95% :96–99.9%) in intermediate tumors; and 86.7 (CI95% :69.3–96.2%) and 99.3% (CI95% :96.3–99.9%) in malignant tumors.

The results of this study showed that the frozen section method has managed to keep its value and place among all diagnostic methods regarding pelvic masses to an acceptable extent. Except for the intermediate tumors, the frozen section method showed great accuracy in dealing with pelvic masses.