Frozen section diagnosis for non-melanoma skin cancers: correlation with permanent section diagnosis.
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.
Department of Dermatology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Oluwakemi
O
Onajin
Department of Dermatology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
David A
DA
Wetter
Department of Dermatology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Randall K
RK
Roenigk
Department of Dermatology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.|Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Lawrence E
LE
Gibson
Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Amy L
AL
Weaver
Department of Dermatology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.|Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Nneka I
NI
Comfere
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
basal cell carcinoma; frozen section; non-melanoma skin cancer; permanent section; squamous cell carcinoma