You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Ovarian Cancer
Frozen Section Underestimates the Need for Surgical Staging in Endometrial Cancer Patients
  1. Andrea Papadia, MD*,
  2. Guglielmo Azioni, MD†,
  3. Bruno Brusacà, MD†,
  4. Ezio Fulcheri, MD‡,
  5. Karen Nishida, MD*,
  6. Stefania Menoni, MD§,
  7. Fiona Simpkins, MD*,
  8. Joseph A Lucci, MD* and
  9. Nicola Ragni, MD†
  1. * Jackson Memorial Hospital, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL; and Departments of
  2. † Obstetrics and Gynecology San Martino Hospital,
  3. ‡ Pathology, and
  4. § Health Science, University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
  1. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Andrea Papadia, MD, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Suite 3500, Miami, FL 33136. E-mail: apapadia{at}med.miami.edu.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the risk status for lymph nodal metastasis at frozen section in endometrial cancer by applying a model based on tumor grade and myometrial involvement.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis was performed on 174 early-stage endometrial cancer patients on whom an intraoperative frozen section was requested. Patients were retrospectively divided into low, intermediate, and high risk for lymph nodal involvement based on tumor grade and myometrial invasion based on Gynecologic Oncology Group 33 data. Concordance of risk status at frozen and permanent sections was performed.

Results: Risk status at frozen and permanent sections were highly correlated (P < 0.01). Agreement between frozen and permanent sections was substantial (κ = 0.625). In 16% of the cases, frozen section underestimated the risk when compared with permanent section.

Conclusion: Relying on intraoperative frozen section of the uterus to assess risk status for lymph nodal involvement in early-stage endometrial cancer patients leads to suboptimal management in a substantial number of cases.

  • Endometrial cancer
  • Frozen section
  • Lymphadenectomy
  • Myometrial invasion
  • Tumor grade

https://doi.org/10.1111/IGC.0b013e3181bff64b

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Footnotes

    • The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.