Anadolu Medical Center Pathology Specialist Prof. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı stated that every year significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Anadolu Medical Center Pathology Specialist Prof. said that thanks to the developments in the field of molecular pathology, there is now a rapid diagnosis of cancer as well as information about which drug and which treatment will be effective in the patient. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı said, “Another area where pathology contributes significantly to the treatment management of cancer patients is the frozen method applied during surgery. Thanks to this method, the tissue taken from the patient during the surgery is quickly frozen, then the section is taken and examined under the microscope, and the diagnosis is made in a short time like 10-15 minutes and the doctor who performed the surgery can be informed. Thus, the course of the operation can be determined by the surgeon performing the operation according to this information.” said.
Stating that pathology is a branch where not only the diagnosis of cancer is made, but also many tests for the treatment of the disease and how it will progress, Anadolu Medical Center Pathology Specialist Prof. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı said, “The increasing number of targeted treatment methods used in cancer today has increased the place and importance of pathology in cancer treatment. Smart drugs should only be used in cancer patients who will benefit from these drugs. These patients, on the other hand, can be identified by some molecular tests performed in pathology.” used the phrase.
Diagnosis within 15 minutes during surgery
Emphasizing that the tissues taken from the patient must go through a process called "tissue tracking" in order for a tissue to be able to be examined under a microscope, Prof. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı said, “This process requires approximately 12-16 hours. Normally, we can perform the first microscopic examination 12-16 hours after tissue is taken from the patient. In the frozen method, the tissue is frozen, sectioned, stained, evaluated and diagnosed within a period of 15 minutes. In rare cases, this takes a little longer, but we usually complete the procedure within 15 minutes, diagnose and assist the surgeon as a consultant in deciding how to proceed with the surgery.”
90 percent of cases are diagnosed within 24-36 hours
Underlining that the ideal time for a pathology report according to international standards is between one week and 10 days, Pathology Specialist Prof. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı continued as follows:
“A similar period is foreseen for the molecular tests to be carried out afterwards. However, we diagnose more than 90 percent of our cases within 24-36 hours, an important part of which is cancer diagnosis. Especially in cancer patients, the conclusion of the pathology report in a short time is important because it enables the treatment to start in a short time. After diagnosing cancer, we finalize the molecular tests necessary to determine the correct and effective treatment in a short period of time, such as one day to a maximum of one week.”
Frozen is a diagnostic method applied during surgery.
Stating that the Frozen or “Frozen Section” method is a diagnostic method performed during surgery, Prof. Dr. Zafer Küçükodacı said, “It is one of the most difficult and special procedures in the practice of pathology. The sample taken from the tumor tissue during the operation is evaluated microscopically by the pathologist, and the result is reported to the surgeon performing the operation in as little as 15 minutes. By meeting one-on-one with the surgeon performing the surgery, we learn how our response will change the surgery to be performed by the surgeon, which feature of the tumor is important, we make these evaluations on the sample given to us in a short time, we share the result with them, and the type of surgery is determined according to this response. Therefore, the frozen procedure is an exchange of ideas, a consultation between the surgeon and the pathologist to determine the type of surgery in tumor surgeries.