A Comparative Study of Rapid Fresh Pathology Imaging and Standard FFPE H&E Histopathology: A High Concordance in the Evaluation of Lung and Breast Cancer.
Journal
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
Journal Volume
16
Journal Issue
10
Start Page
1503
ISSN
2075-4418
Date Issued
2026-05-15
Author(s)
Tseng, Yao-Chen
Huang, Chung-Yen
Wang, Hsuan
Lee, Yi-Hsuan
Huang, Hsin-Yi
Chang, Koping
Wang, Huan-Chih
Wang, Kuo-Chuan
Wang, Ming-Yang
Sun, Chi-Kuang
Abstract
Background/Objectives: An intraoperative pathological assessment is essential for surgical decision-making but is limited by artifacts and a suboptimal image quality in frozen section analysis (FSA). Rapid fresh pathology (RFP), enabled by whole-mount tissue staining and a digital H&E transformation, has emerged as a potential alternative. This study aims to clinically validate the feasibility and diagnostic performance of RFP in lung and breast surgical specimens. Methods: Fresh surgical specimens, including tumor and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues, from patients with lung and breast lesions were processed using a rapid staining protocol and optical imaging via PATHOscope PS100 (Mesoview, New Taipei City, Taiwan) without slicing tissues. Diagnoses based on RFP images were independently evaluated by pathologists and compared with reference diagnoses obtained from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded FFPE tissue histology to assess diagnostic concordance. Results: RFP demonstrated a high concordance with standard histopathology in both lung and breast specimens. The technique preserved the tissue architecture and provided a clear visualization of the cellular morphology, similar to conventional FFPE processing. In addition, RFP significantly reduced the time required for the tissue evaluation compared with FFPE workflows. Conclusions: RFP is a feasible and reliable approach for the rapid evaluation of lung and breast surgical specimens. Its ability to provide high-quality morphological information while preserving tissue integrity highlights its potential for future clinical applications, including intraoperative and time-sensitive pathological assessments.
Subjects
breast cancer
digital histopathology
lung cancer
rapid fresh pathology
tumor assessment
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Type
journal article