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Patient was diagnosed in July 2022 with biopsy confirmed left kidney renal cell carcinoma. Initially, partial nephrectomy was planned for February 2023 but canceled at the last moment due to the patient’s “history of narcotic use.” The details of that cancellation were otherwise unclear. It appears the treatment plan was changed due to patient non-compliance.

Patient then had cryoablation of the tumor in May of 2023. Subsequent imaging in October found residual tumor, but no disease progression was noted. Again, additional ablation was offered but patient decided on surgical treatment which did not occur until December 2023.

Is the cryoablation second course due to a change of plan if there is no disease progression, recurrence, or treatment failure?

If the cryoablation is first course treatment, then would the partial resection also be first course treatment because it was documented as the treatment plan?

Patient was diagnosed on imaging with enhancement along the right optic nerve intraorbital segment, displacing the optic nerve, most consistent with optic nerve sheath meningioma.

Extracranial meningiomas are rare, however SINQ 20230052 does contain an exception for reportability in a different head and neck site because it is not an intracranial location.

It is unclear if this portion of the meninges surrounding the intraorbital optic nerve is still “intracranial” and thus reportable.

The 2022 ICD-O-3.2 Implementation Guidelines indicate “Tubulovillous adenoma, high grade” is 8263/2 and is not SEER reportable. However, the 2024 SEER Manual and clarification from recent SINQs (20240021 and 20240025) confirm high grade dysplasia in the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine is reportable (8148/2).

Which reportability reference applies to a diagnosis of a tubulovillous adenoma with high grade dysplasia in non-colorectal sites?

The patient had neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Carboplatin and Paclitaxel) concurrent with radiation per the managing physician. The physician stated the patient completed the neoadjuvant therapy; however, it was also noted that patient completed five cycles of chemotherapy, but the sixth cycle was held due to neutropenia.

The SEER Manual does not address how to code Neoadjuvant Therapy when the patient completed almost all the planned neoadjuvant therapy. It seems inappropriate to code Neoadjuvant Therapy as 2 (Started but not completed) simply because the patient did not have one cycle of chemotherapy but is otherwise felt to have completed neoadjuvant therapy per the managing physician. Does the managing physician’s statement of “completion” impact how this scenario is coded?

Please comment on these specific scenarios.

1. A prostate biopsy is suspicious for adenocarcinoma, but the urologist is not considering this malignant, nor is the urologist treating for malignancy, but there is no clear statement from the physician that this is not reportable.  Should this case be abstracted?
2. A prostate biopsy is suspicious for adenocarcinoma, and there is a statement by the physician that this is not yet malignant. Should this case be abstracted?
3. Prostate MRI with PIRADS 4 or 5; however, the treating urologist does not call this malignant and is not treating patient for prostate cancer.  [Example: 2024 Prostate MRI - PI-RADS 4. Follow up with Urologist states patient to repeat Prostate MRI in 1 year and continue with yearly PSA levels and there is no mention of prostate cancer other than the PI-RADS score]. Should this case be abstracted?

The patient had a 2023 endometrial polypectomy and curettage with final diagnosis of “at least serous intraepithelial neoplasia arising in association with an endometrial polyp.” Diagnosis comment states, “There are multiple tissue fragments with highly atypical glandular lining consistent with a high-grade serous neoplasm. There are focal areas which are suspicious, but not conclusive, for stromal invasion.” Subsequent hysterectomy and BSO showed no residual carcinoma.

According to previous SINQ 20210043, serous tubal intraepithelial neoplasm (STIN) is reportable when stated to be high grade. Does the same logic apply to a similar neoplasm in the endometrium and/or endometrial polyp?

Example: 12/2023 Breast lumpectomy final diagnosis is Invasive ductal carcinoma, lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma type. This is a single tumor with no in situ carcinoma present.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma is not listed as a subtype/variant or synonym for breast carcinoma in the Solid Tumor Rules histology tables.

The SEER Manual seems to give somewhat conflicting instructions for clinical trial therapies under the Neoadjuvant Therapy data item. One section states that limited systemic therapy may occur in clinical trials to impact the biology of a cancer, but is not a full course of neoadjuvant therapy with the intent to impact extent of surgical resection or other outcomes (organ preservation, function or quality of life); do not code as neoadjuvant therapy for the purposes of this data item. Then another section states for purposes of this data item, the criteria for neoadjuvant therapy include that treatment must follow recommended guidelines for the type and duration of treatment for that particular cancer site and/or histology, and that neoadjuvant therapy may be given as part of a clinical trial.

For example, a patient was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, 6 cm in size; treatment planning conference recommended neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patient elected to participate in a clinical trial and was assigned to a group given the antibody drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus durvalumab for 12 weeks. There was no physician documentation of intent or expected outcomes, nor yC staging or statement of clinical response. Post-therapy imaging showed no residual mass, and post-therapy mastectomy path report showed only residual ductal carcinoma in situ, stating "Treatment Effect (after neoadjuvant): Residual Cancer Burden - pCR, In the breast - complete response."  The medical oncologist stated post-therapy stage was ypTis ypN0 cM0.

The trial drugs this patient were given do not appear to be approved or standard neoadjuvant/pre-operative drugs in SEER*Rx or NCCN guidelines for this type of cancer; however, the duration of treatment was fairly substantial, and although we don't have clear documentation from physicians as recommended in the SEER manual (which is usually not stated, in our experience), it seems like they may be considering it as neoadjuvant therapy. How should the Neoadjuvant Therapy data item be coded for cases like this? What is the best way to differentiate between clinical trial therapies that are "limited systemic exposure" (code 3) versus true neoadjuvant therapy (code 1)?