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Frozen section diagnosis for non‐melanoma skin cancers: correlation with permanent section diagnosis
Author(s) -
Onajin Oluwakemi,
Wetter David A.,
Roenigk Randall K.,
Gibson Lawrence E.,
Weaver Amy L.,
Comfere Nneka I.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/cup.12498
Subject(s) - frozen section procedure , concordance , medicine , section (typography) , basal cell carcinoma , melanoma , medical diagnosis , pathology , dermatology , skin cancer , histopathology , basal cell , anatomical pathology , radiology , cancer , immunohistochemistry , cancer research , advertising , business
Frozen section pathology is routinely used for margin assessment of non‐melanoma skin cancer ( NMSC ). Frozen section can also be used for the primary diagnosis of several skin lesions. Limited data exist on the accuracy of frozen section in the diagnosis of NMSC . We performed a retrospective chart review of 300 cases in which frozen section diagnoses were compared with permanent section diagnoses of NMSC . Frozen section and permanent section pathology were concordant 83.3% of the time, with the highest concordance rates noted for basal cell carcinoma (145/153, 95%). Our results show a high level of concordance between frozen section and corresponding permanent section pathology diagnosis for NMSC . The rapidity of frozen section tissue processing and pathology reporting makes this technique useful in dermatologic practice for immediate diagnosis and management of NMSC . Further studies should explore strategies to decrease or eliminate discrepancies between frozen and permanent section diagnosis.