title: Frozen section as a diagnostic test for major salivary gland tumors.
abstract: Major salivary gland tumors are uncommon and the exact nature of these tumors is not obvious. This study was carried out to compare the histological results of intraoperative frozen sections against those of permanent reports for major salivary glands masses. One hundred thirty-nine patients with major salivary gland masses who were candidates for surgery underwent an intraoperative frozen section biopsy. A permanent histological examination was then performed for definite diagnosis and its result was compared with that of the frozen section. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and the positive and negative predictive values were analyzed. The frozen section had 98.4% sensitivity, 87% specificity, 97.1% accuracy, 98.4% positive predictive value and 87% negative predictive value in differentiating between non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions. In addition, the frozen section's identification of a mass as either benign or malignant showed 98% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 99.2% accuracy, 100% positive predictive value and 99% negative predictive value. Based on the current study's findings, it can be suggested that the frozen section is considerably accurate in the diagnosis of malignant versus benign lesions of major salivary glands, regardless of the exact histopathological type of the malignant tumors.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Omid Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Leila V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Mostaan
authors.forename: Nasrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yazdani
authors.forename: Seyed Ziaodin
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Madani
authors.forename: Hasty
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Borghei
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mortazavi
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ojani
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mokhtari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult