SEER Inquiry System - Question 20021066 Details

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Question 20021066

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Inquiry Details

References:

#1: 2004 SEER Manual, 85-86

#2: 2004 SEER Manual, 85-86

Question:

Histology: How do we code this field when a less representative specimen has a more specific morphology? See discussion.

Discussion:

Example: Biopsy revealed endometrioid adenocarcinoma and the resection demonstrated adenocarcinoma, NOS. Do we code histology per the most representative sample, or to the more specific morphology?

Answer:

Code the histology using the pathology report from the most representative specimen, even if that histology is less specific.

For the case example above, code 8140 [adenocarcinoma, NOS].

The rationale is that a diagnosis from a smaller specimen will be less accurate and less representative of the true histology compared to a larger tumor specimen.

History:

For cases diagnosed prior to 2004:

Code the Histology field to 8380 [Endometrioid adenocarcinoma].

Code the more specific term if one is an "NOS" term (e.g., adenocarcinoma) and the other term is more specific (e.g., endometrioid adenocarcinoma). In following this guideline for all sites and histology subtypes, use the information from all pathology reports for the primary under consideration to code the histologic type.

Reference: SEER PCM, 3rd Ed, page 96

Cancer Site Category:

N/A

Data Item Category:

Histology

Other Category:

N/A

Year:

2002