The role of frozen section biopsy for submandibular gland tumors

Background Although there have been several reports of the diagnostic accuracy of frozen section biopsy (FSB) for parotid gland tumors, few studies have focused on its diagnostic accuracy for submandibular gland tumors. Aim/objectives This study aimed to investigate the necessity of FSB with regard to its diagnostic accuracy for submandibular gland tumors (SGTs). Materials and methods About 42 SGT patients underwent both fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and FSB between 2005 and 2020. The results of FNAC and FSB were analyzed and compared with the final histological diagnoses. Results The respective sensitivity and specificity in detecting malignant tumors in 38 cases, excluding the four indeterminate FNAC cases, they were 0 and 97% for FNAC, and 100 and 97% for FSB. Considering the four indeterminate FNAC cases to be malignant, the respective sensitivity and specificity in detecting malignant tumors in the 42 cases were 50 and 92% for FNAC, and 100 and 95% for FSB. Conclusions and significance FSB may be useful for malignancy detection as a final histological diagnosis in cases that are diagnosed as benign or indeterminate by FNAC in SGTs.