Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Frozen section analysis for intraoperative margin assessment during breast-conserving surgery results in low rates of re-excision and local recurrence.

BACKGROUND: Negative surgical margins minimize the risk of local recurrence after breast-conserving surgery. Intraoperative frozen section analysis (FSA) is one method for margin evaluation. We retrospectively analyzed records of patients who received breast-conserving therapy with intraoperative FSA of the lumpectomy cavity to assess re-excision rates and local control.

METHODS: Records were retrospectively reviewed for individuals who underwent breast-conserving surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive carcinoma between 1993 and 2003. Inclusion criteria were a minimum of 2 years follow-up and intact tumor at the time of operation. The major outcome measure was local recurrence. The Kaplan-Meier test was used to evaluate local recurrence rates between groups.

RESULTS: 290 subjects with an average age of 57.2 years (range 27-89) underwent 292 lumpectomies with FSA. 11.3% had DCIS, 73.3% had infiltrating ductal, 5.8% had infiltrating lobular, and 9.6% exhibited other forms of invasive carcinoma. 70 subjects underwent additional resection at the time of breast surgery, 16 underwent subsequent re-excision, and 17 underwent subsequent mastectomy. At a median follow-up of 53.4 months (range 5.8-137.8), there were six local recurrences (2.74%) in patients who had breast-conserving procedures and two local recurrences in patients who underwent mastectomy. There were no statistically significant associations among local recurrence rate, tumor size, nodal status, or overall stage. Local recurrences were higher in patients with DCIS compared with invasive carcinoma, and tumors >2cm.

CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative FSA allows resection of suspicious or positive margins at the time of lumpectomy and results in low rates of local recurrence and re-excision. The low local recurrence rate reported here is comparable to those reported with other margin assessment techniques.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

Related Resources

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app