Frozen section diagnosis of breast tissue. Indications and limitations.

Whether a frozen section of a breast biopsy is indicated or not, should be decided by the clinician and pathologist together. The accuracy rate of frozen section diagnoses in cases of invasive carcinoma is close to 100%. Palpation, mammography, and cytologic examination should precede frozen section. Selection of well-preserved tumor tissue by the pathologist occurs at the time of frozen section. Breast tissue of nontumorous lesions, such as fibrocystic disease, is best examined by cytology and paraffin sections.