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Frozen section of lymph nodes in uterine cervical carcinoma
P Morice1, J C Sabourin, D Castaigne
1Department of Gynecologic Surgery, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
Unlabelled:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of frozen section examination of lymph nodes in cervical cancer.
Methods:
This retrospective study was based on 55 patients with stage Ib or IIa invasive cervical carcinoma treated by surgery followed by irradiation. All patients underwent a pelvic lymphadenectomy with frozen section analysis of lymph nodes.
Results:
A total of 1249 nodes were removed (23 per patient) and 501 nodes (40%) were examined during the frozen section analysis. The sensitivity of frozen sections analysis in detecting metastatic nodes was 89%, its specificity and positive predictive value was 100% and its negative predictive value was 97%.
Conclusions:
The frozen section diagnosis of pelvic nodes should be performed in patients with a small cervical carcinoma to avoid systematic para-aortic lymphadenectomy. This is an accurate procedure and should be carried out on obturator, external iliac and common iliac nodes.