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20220043 | First Course Treatment/Neoadjuvant Therapy--Melanoma: How are the three Neoadjuvant Therapy data items (Neoadjuvant Therapy, Neoadjuvant Therapy--Clinical Response, Neoadjuvant Therapy--Treatment Effect) coded when a patient is diagnosed with melanoma in the lymph nodes with no primary skin site identified? The physician gives immunotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy with planned and carried out surgical resection of involved lymph nodes following completion of immunotherapy. There is no "planned definitive surgical resection of the primary site" as no primary site was found, |
Assign code 0 to each of the three Neoadjuvant Therapy data items in this situation. We will add an example to the coding instructions for these data items in the next release of the manual. |
2022 | |
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20081097 | DCO/Systemic Treatment, Surgery Sequence: How does SEER want systemic treatment/surgery sequence coded for a DCO case? | Assign code 0 [No systemic therapy and/or surgical treatment] as a default for DCO cases. |
2008 | |
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20071116 | Behavior--Bladder: What behavior code is used for a TURB path specimen diagnosis of "non-invasive urothelial carcinoma, no muscle found, depth of invasion cannot be assessed" when the clinician stages the case as Ta? See Discussion. | The SEER site specific coding module for bladder says, "If the only surgery performed is a TURB and if it is documented that depth of invasion cannot be measured because there is no muscle in the specimen, code the behavior as malignant and not in situ." | Assign behavior code 2 [in situ] based on the physician's stage Ta. When no other information is available and the TNM designation is not available, use the instructions on page C-844 in Appendix C of the 2007 SEER manual as a default. |
2007 |
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20230075 | EOD/Summary Stage--Eye: How is stage coded for a patient with extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma involving bilateral choroids (single focus, both sites) and no lymph node involvement? Since the eyes are a paired site, is this two separate extranodal sites? If so, there are no Summary Stage or EOD tumor codes that best fit this scenario. |
Assign as Stage IV as recommended by our expert hematological oncologist. This is a rare occurrence and this type of presentation does not fit the definition of intraocular extension. Stage IV is probably the best stage for this type of presentation, since there are two extranodal organs involved, even though they involve a bilateral site. EOD Primary Tumor: 700 SS: 7 (Distant) |
2023 | |
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20160052 | Summary Stage 2000--Lymphoma: How is SEER SS2000 coded for an ocular adnexal lymphoma when it extends from the primary site to adjacent sites that are still orbital structures? See Discussion. |
In this case, the lymphoma arose in the posterior orbit and the primary site was coded as C696 (orbit, NOS). The mass directly extended to at least one "adjacent" site, the lacrimal gland. Should SS2000 be coded to 1 (localized) or 5 (regional, NOS) when an ocular adnexal lymphoma arises in the posterior orbit and extends to involve the lacrimal gland? Although both the posterior orbit and the lacrimal gland are parts of the orbit, they have separate ICD-O-3 topography codes. Should extension to multiple sites within the orbit be classified as localized disease?
The issue is what constitutes "adjacent" structures for a tumor that arises in the orbit. In an article published by the Indian Journal of Opthamology it states, "According to the Ann-Arbor staging system, lymphoma confined to the orbit is designated as Stage I, involvement of adjacent structures (sinuses, tonsil and nose) makes it Stage II." Does SEER agree with this definition of "adjacent" structures? Or are the lacrimal gland, ciliary body, retina, conjunctiva and/or choroid "adjacent" structures for a lymphoma stated to arise in the posterior orbit? |
Assign SEER SS2000 code 5 (Regional, NOS) for a lymphoma of orbit extending to lacrimal gland. In SEER SS2000, this is Stage IIE: Direct extension to adjacent organs or tissues. |
2016 |
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20240028 | 2024 SEER Manual/Primary Site--Breast: Is Primary Site coded as C504 or C501 based on the Solid Tumor Rules and the SEER Manual Breast Coding Guidelines? The pathology report reads "Right Breast 10:00 1 cm from the nipple." Codes C502-C505 take priority over code C501. The description for C501 in the Solid Tumor Rules has "Area extending 1 cm around areolar complex." |
Assign Primary Site code C504 based on the location in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast, 10 o’clock, as opposed to code C501, around the areolar complex. The 2024 SEER Manual Breast Coding Guidelines advise that C502 - C505 are generally preferred over C501 when there is no other way to determine the subsite. |
2024 | |
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20230004 | SEER Manual/Laterality--Kaposi Sarcoma: If both arms are involved with Kaposi sarcoma and no other sites, how is laterality coded? See Discussion. |
Per Solid Tumor Manual Other Sites Rule M6, despite the number of areas of involvement, any presentation of Kaposi sarcoma is always a single primary. The primary site is skin using the Kaposi Sarcoma for All Sites Coding Guidelines (Appendix C, 2023 SEER Manual). Does SEER Program Coding and Staging Manual Laterality Coding Instruction #4 preclude the use of code 4 [Bilateral involvement at time of diagnosis...] if a patient presents with KS involvement of only both arms or only both sides of the face? |
Assign Laterality code 4 (Bilateral involvement at time of diagnosis, lateral origin unknown for a single primary) in the situations you describe. Skin of upper limb and shoulder and Skin of other and unspecific parts of the face are listed as paired organs in the table Sites for Which Laterality Must Be Recorded In the 2023 SEER Manual. |
2023 |
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20170022 | MP/H Rules/Histology--Brain and CNS: What is the code for an embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes. WHO shows the code as 9478/3, but this code is not available for use in the United States. |
Assign ICD-O-3 code 9392/3 until code 9478/3 is implemented in 2018. Per our expert neuropathologist, embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes was previously called ependymoblastoma. |
2017 | |
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20230057 | EOD (2018)/EOD Regional Nodes--Thyroid: How is Extent of Disease (EOD) Regional Nodes coded for thyroid primary with cervical lymph nodes containing psammomatous calcifications (psammoma bodies) but negative for metastatic tumor cells? See Discussion. |
The AJCC 8th edition confirms that the identification of psammomatous calcifications within a cervical lymph node is metastatic disease. Example: Patient had a thyroid lobectomy and level VI neck node excision in August 2022. The final diagnosis is multifocal papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, as well as rare psammomatous calcifications only in the resected node. The pathologist notes that “psammoma bodies only” in lymph nodes is not well defined, and while indolent, they do indicate capacity for lymphatic spread and are pN1a. Should thyroid primaries with cervical node psammomatous calcifications get captured in EOD Regional Nodes category as it is in the AJCC pN staging? |
Assign EOD Regional Nodes code 300 for Psammoma bodies within a cervical lymph node that are microscopically confirmed. A clarifying note for the Thyroid Schema will be included in the 2025 EOD updates. |
2023 |
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20200019 | Diagnostic confirmation--Heme and Lymphoid Neoplasms--Lymphoma: Is Diagnostic Confirmation "5" for Hematopoietic Neoplasms appropriate for this case? There appears to be no conclusive histologic diagnosis (Neoplasm, suggestive of lymphoma) and only the IHC/flow cytometry issued a conclusive diagnosis. See Discussion. |
10/4/2018 Frozen Section Diagnosis: Brain tissue with atypical cells and inflammatory cells, defer to permanents for further evaluation. Note: Tissue for flow cytometry is submitted. Final Diagnosis: Preliminary Diagnosis: Brain Tumor, Biopsy: Neoplasm, suggestive of lymphoma (see comment). Comment: The tumor exhibits nuclear atypia and increased mitosis. The tumor cells are immunologically positive for LCA and with very high ki67 labeling index. GFAP and synaptophysin are not expressed by tumor cells. The above suggests a lympho-proliferative process. This case is forwarded to the hematopathology service of this department for further evaluation. The final diagnosis report will be issued by the hematopathologist as an addendum. Supp Rpt Add Addendum Diagnosis: The brain biopsy showed brain tissue large lymphoid cell infiltrate. Additional immunohistochemical stains are performed. The large cells are positive for CD20, BCL2, BCL6 (subset), MUM1, and CD30, negative for CD3, CD5, and CD10. Staining for c-MYC is negative. Ki-67 positive large cells are approximately 18%. EBER is strongly positive by ISH. Diagnosis: Brain lesion, biopsy: EBV+ Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. Addendum Comment: The concurrent flow cytometric study showed monoclonal lambda-positive B-cells without out CD5 and CD10 expression, consistent with B-cell lymphoma. |
Assign Diagnostic Confirmation as code 3, positive histology plus positive immunophenotyping. The biopsy diagnosis demonstrated EBV+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, with positive staining as indicated in the Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Neoplasm Database.The information received from the additional studies confirm the more specific diagnosis. |
2020 |
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