Introduction to Surgical Pathology

Whether the tissue sample is obtained during a biopsy as part of a clinical workup, or intraoperatively for a final definitive diagnosis, pathological confirmation of a patient's lung cancer is required for appropriate staging of their disease. As previously discussed in the Staging and Surgical Planning Tutorial, biopsies are typically only done as part of the clinical workup of patients with a previous history of cancer or other medically compromised patients. Therefore, most pathology specimens are obtained via frozen section during a wedge resection or other surgical procedure.