The accuracy of intraoperative frozen sections in the diagnosis of ovarian tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether frozen section evaluation of ovarian tumors can be used to establish a histopathologic diagnosis and guide the surgeon to perform the appropriate surgical procedure. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Between January 2002 and December 2006, 376 ovarian specimens were submitted for frozen section examination and received for permanent section evaluation. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the frozen sections were studied. RESULTS: The overall accuracy was 87.8% while the inaccuracy was 12.2%. The sensitivity for malignant tumors was 79.6%, the sensitivity for borderline tumors was 61.8%, and the sensitivity for benign tumors was 98.2%. The specificity for the benign tumors was 88.6%, 93.8% for borderline tumors, and 97.1% for malignancy The positive predictive value was 92.2% for benign tumors, 63% for borderline tumors, and 91.1% for malignant tumors. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms that frozen section diagnosis is a reliable method for the surgical management of patients with ovarian masses.