Open AccessAccuracy of frozen section in intraoperative margin assessment for breast-conserving surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Author(s) -
Mila Trementosa Garcia,
Bruna Salani Mota,
Natalia Cardoso,
Ana Luiza Cabrera Martimbianco,
Marcos Desídérío Ricci,
Filomena Marino Carvalho,
Rodrigo Gonçalves,
José Maria Soares,
José Roberto Filassi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0248768
Subject(s) - funnel plot , publication bias , confidence interval , meta analysis , medicine , mastectomy , margin (machine learning) , frozen section procedure , breast cancer , breast conserving surgery , forest plot , surgery , surgical margin , systematic review , medline , cancer , resection , computer science , biology , biochemistry , machine learning
Background and objectives It is well established that tumor-free margin is an important factor for reducing local recurrence and reoperation rates. This systematic review with meta-analysis of frozen section intraoperative margin assessment aims to evaluate the accuracy, and reoperation and survival rates, and to establish its importance in breast-conserving surgery. Methods A thorough review was conducted in all online publication-databases for the related literature up to March 2020. MeSH terms used: “Breast Cancer”, “Segmental Mastectomy” and “Frozen Section”. We included the studies that evaluated accuracy of frozen section, reoperation and survival rates. To ensure quality of the included articles, the QUADAS-2 tool (adapted) was employed. The assessment of publication bias by graphical and statistical methods was performed using the funnel plot and the Egger’s test. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019125682). Results Nineteen studies were deemed suitable, with a total of 6,769 cases. The reoperation rate on average was 5.9%. Sensitivity was 0.81, with a Confidence Interval of 0.79–0.83, p = 0.0000, I2 = 95.1%, and specificity was 0.97, with a Confidence Interval of 0.97–0.98, p = 0.0000, I-2 = 90.8%, for 17 studies and 5,615 cases. Accuracy was 0.98. Twelve studies described local recurrence and the highest cumulative recurrence rate in 3 years was 7.5%. The quality of the included studies based on the QUADAS-2 tool showed a low risk of bias. There is no publication bias (p = 0.32) and the funnel plot showed symmetry. Conclusion Frozen section is a reliable procedure with high accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in intraoperative margin assessment of breast-conserving surgery. Therefore, this modality of margin assessment could be useful in reducing reoperation rates.