Accuracy and clinical value of intraoperative frozen section assessment in endometrial carcinoma.

Abstract

In this study, to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical reliability of intraoperative frozen sections (IFS) compared with paraffin-embedded sections (PS) in guiding surgical decision-making for endometrial carcinoma (EC) patients, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 165 EC patients who underwent surgical resection with IFS evaluation. Diagnostic concordance between IFS and final PS pathology was assessed across six parameters: 1) tumor histological type, 2) tumor grade, 3) depth of myometrial invasion (MI), 4) cervical stromal involvement, 5) lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) status, and 6) lymph node metastasis risk stratification. The data were statistically analyzed using Kappa coefficient and chi-square test. The IFS results concurred with the PS in 95.3 % for histological type (kappa 0.859, p = 0.125), 94.0 % for tumor grade (kappa 0.848, p = 0.039), 97.6 % for depth of MI (kappa 0.929, p = 0.046), 95.2 % for cervical involvement (kappa 0.481, p = 0.008), and 88.5 % for LVSI (kappa 0.155, p < 0.001). Risk assessment was accurately determined in 92.1 % of cases (kappa 0.796, p < 0.001). Final histopathology confirmed pelvic and paraaortic lymph node metastases in two patients whose metastatic risk had been underestimated based on the IFS risk stratification. High-intermediate/high-risk patients showed significantly higher lymph node involvement compared to low/intermediate-risk groups. IFS analysis demonstrates reliability and clinical utility in assessing disease extent and guiding surgical decisions regarding the need for complete staging procedures in EC patients.