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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
A Rapid Method for Multispectral Fluorescence Imaging of Frozen Tissue Sections
Published on: March 30, 2020
Comparison of MART-1 frozen sections to permanent sections using a rapid 19-minute protocol
Basil S Cherpelis1, Richard Moore, Sharron Ladd
1University of South Florida, Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, Tampa, Florida, USA. bcherpel@health.usf.edu
Background:
The use of melanoma-associated antigen recognized by T cells (MART-1) immunostain has been proposed as a useful adjunct to overcome the inherent difficulties in the use of frozen sections during Mohs surgery for the treatment of melanoma, but no studies have compared MART-1 frozen sections with MART-1 permanent sections. Current MART-1 1-hour protocols add significant time to the procedure.
Objective:
To determine whether there is a significant difference between frozen and permanent MART-1 immunostained sections using a rapid 19-minute protocol.
Methods:
Frozen and permanent sections stained with MART-1 were made from dog-ears excised during 25 reconstructions. A rapid 19-minute protocol was used to stain the frozen tissue. The sections were examined blinded, and statistical analysis was performed to analyze the data.
Results:
No significant difference was found in number of keratinocytes, nuclear diameter of keratinocytes, number of melanocytes, melanocytic nuclear diameter, confluence, pagetoid spread, melanocytic nesting, or atypical melanocytes.
Conclusions:
The 19-minute protocol is a rapid and effective MART-1 immunostain. Frozen sections stained with MART-1 provide information equivalent to that obtained from MART-1 stained permanent sections. Mohs surgeons using MART-1 can feel confident that they have the same information as they would have obtained using permanent sections using the slow Mohs method.
