A comparative evaluation of ultrasound and frozen section analysis in predicting margin status after breast conservation surgery in patients with ultrasound-detectable breast cancer.

This article evaluates the effectiveness of intraoperative ultrasound (US) and frozen section (FS) analysis in predicting margin status during breast conservation surgery (BCS) for patients with ultrasound-detectable breast carcinoma. In a prospective study of 54 patients, FS demonstrated higher patient-wise sensitivity (100%) and negative predictive value (NPV) (100%) compared to US, though US showed comparable margin-wise NPV (99.3%) and accuracy (94.7%). Both modalities had relatively low positive predictive values, indicating higher false positive rates. The study concludes that US, being rapid, widely available, and cost-effective, can be successfully used for margin assessment in BCS, especially in settings where FS may be less accessible or more time-consuming.