An official website of the United States government
Home
SEER Inquiry System - Report
Produced: 11/14/2025 8:02 AM
Question 20120087
Inquiry Details
References:
2007 MP/H Rules
Question:
MP/H Rules/Histology--Kidney: How is the histology coded and what rule(s) apply for "cyst associated renal cell carcinoma," "cystic renal cell carcinoma," and "cystic renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type"? See Discussion.
Discussion:
Per SINQ 20031008, these histologies were all coded as 8316/3 [cyst associated renal cell carcinoma]. What are the correct codes for these histologies using the 2007 MP/H Rules?
Answer:
For cases diagnosed 2007 or later, the correct histology code for both cyst associated renal cell carcinoma and cystic renal cell carcinoma is 8316/3. The histology code for cystic renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type is 8255/3.
The steps used to arrive at these decisions are:
Step 1: Open the Multiple Primary and Histology Coding Rules Manual. Choose one of the three formats (i.e., flowchart, matrix or text). Go to the Kidney Histology rules because site specific rules have been developed for this primary.
Step 2: For the first histology, cyst associated renal cell carcinoma, start at the SINGLE TUMOR module, Rule H1. The rules are intended to be reviewed in consecutive order within a module. Stop at Rule H5. According to this rule you are to use Table 1 if you have a renal cell carcinoma and mention of a more specific renal cell type. To locate Table 1, go to Kidney under the Terms & Definitions section. Per Table 1, titled Renal Cell Carcinomas and Specific Renal Cell Types, "cyst associated" is a specific type of renal cell carcinoma. Code the histology to 8316/3 [cyst associated renal cell carcinoma].
Step 3: For the second histology, cystic renal cell carcinoma start at the SINGLE TUMOR module, Rule H1. The rules are intended to be reviewed in consecutive order within a module. Stop at Rule H5. As in the previous example you are to use Table 1 if you have a renal cell carcinoma and mention of a more specific renal cell type. Per Table 1 "cystic" is a specific type of renal cell carcinoma. Code the histology to 8316/3 [cystic renal cell carcinoma].
Step 4: For the third histology, cystic renal cell carcinoma, clear cell type, start at the SINGLE TUMOR module, Rule H1. The rules are intended to be reviewed in consecutive order within a module. Stop at Rule H6 which states you are to code histology to 8255 (adenocarcinoma with mixed subtypes) when there are two or more specific renal cell carcinoma types. To determine whether "clear cell" and "cystic" are types of renal cell carcinoma use Table 1 again. According to Table 1, both cystic and clear cell are specific types of renal cell carcinoma. Code the histology as 8255/3 [adenocarcinoma with mixed subtypes].
