A Study on the Quality of a Frozen Section of Breast Resection Margin during Breast-Conserving Surgery

Abstract

Evaluation of the resected margins of the frozen section during breast-conserving surgery can determine the presence of cancer cells in a short time and have a significant impact on the scope of surgery and the prognosis of the patient. However, breast tissue is composed of adipose tissue, which affects the accuracy of the test. In this study, a new method was applied to the resected surface of the frozen section in which wiping the surface of the frozen section block with alcohol was expected to expose the parenchyma to the surface as the adipose tissue would melt momentarily. Indeed, of the total of 98 cases, 37 cases showed a better exposure ratio of the parenchyma in the improved frozen section test than in the previous frozen section test. Of the 37 cases with increased visibility of parenchymal sections obtained by this method, two cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) were detected. Although there are limitations such as turnaround time (TAT), the diagnostic accuracy of histopathologic examination of the frozen section may improve through this method and may have a direct impact on patient safety, and should therefore be researched further.

Keywords

• breast-conserving surgery
• frozen sections
• lumpectomy