Accuracy of intra-operative frozen section in the diagnosis of ovarian tumours

Objectives: To compare frozen-section results with definitive histopathological results of ovarian tumours diagnosed intra operatively at the Zonguldak Maternity Hospital, Zonguldak, Turkey. Methods: The definitive histopathological results of 278 patients who underwent surgery between January 2002 and December 2008 for ovarian masses and on whom frozen sectioning was performed were evaluated retrospectively. After exclusion of 12 patients for whom a definitive result could not be obtained from frozen sections, the results of 266 patients' frozen sections were compared with those from permanent sections. Results: Data of 266 patients was analyzed. The results of frozen sections were 235 (88.3%) benign, 11(4.2%) borderline and 20 (7.5%) malignant. The sensitivity was 100% for the benign tumours, 77.8% for the borderline tumours and 71.4% for the malignant tumours. The specificity of frozen section was 83.8%, 98.4% and 100% for the benign, borderline and malignant tumours, respectively. Conclusions: Frozen sections have adequate sensitivity and specificity at the Zonguldak Maternity Hospital, Turkey, and can be safely used to guide the intraoperative management of ovarian masses. False-positive and -negative ratios are low.