Accuracy of Frozen-Section Diagnosis of Brain Tumors: An 11-Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Center.

Abstract

To analyze the frozen section (FS) diagnostic accuracy in correlation with the final diagnosis of brain tumors. This retrospective study comprised all brain tumor cases with FS diagnosis and permanent section diagnosis in Jordan University Hospital from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2017. Data were obtained by reviewing slides and reports from the histopathology archives. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software v20 was used for analysis. A total of 179 cases with frozen section and permanent section diagnoses were analyzed. Eighty-four (47%) patients were males and 95 (53%) females.The ages ranged from 1 to 85 years. Diagnostic accuracy of FS was 88.8%. Discrepancy was noted in 20 cases. Of the discrepancies, misclassification of tumor type was the most common category (12 cases, 60%), followed by grading mismatch (7 cases, 35%) and misdiagnosis of tumor versus non-tumor conditions (1 case, 5%). Patient age and gender were not significantly associated with the discrepancy between FS and final diagnosis. Our results were comparable to international reports. However, more emphasis on diagnostic cytology in intraoperative consultation is required as an effective adjunct to frozen section to overcome limitations.