Surgery of Primary Site/Scope Regional LN Surgery--Breast: How should these fields be coded when a sentinel lymph node dissection removes one-to-three axillary lymph nodes and a total/simple mastectomy is done?
Assign code 41 [Total (simple) mastectomy, NOS WITHOUT removal of uninvolved contralateral breast] for Surgery of Primary Site. Assign code 2 [Sentinel lymph node biopsy] for Scope of Regional Lymph Node surgery. Code 41 applies to a total/simple mastectomy with any number of sentinel lymph nodes removed -- as long as all of the nodes removed are designated as sentinel nodes.
Behavior Code--Bladder/Lymphoma: Should the "in situ" designation on a bladder primary's pathology report be ignored that states a diagnosis of "in situ lymphoma"?
Ignore the in situ designation. You cannot assign an in situ behavior code to a lymphoma primary. The term or designation of "in situ" is limited to solid tumors; carcinoma and/or cancer.
Update to current manual/Mets at diagnosis fields--Lymphoma: Are distant metastases possible for a lymphoma with a primary site of lymph nodes? The instructions in the SEER manual tell us to assign code 8 in each of the Mets at Dx fields for a lymphoma originating in lymph nodes.
This is a correction to the SEER manual. Lymphomas originating in lymph nodes (C77) could have distant metastases to any site except lymph nodes. The following corrections to the manual apply now and will appear in the next version of the manual.
Remove C770-C779 from the instruction for assigning code 8 on the following pages.
Page 135 Mets at Dx--Bone
Page 137 Mets at Dx--Brain
Page 139 Mets at Dx--Liver
Page 141 Mets at Dx--Lung
Page 145 Mets at Dx--Other
Example
Biopsy of axillary lymph node: Diffuse Large B-Cell lymphoma. Lymph nodes involved above and below the diaphragm, multiple nodules seen in lung, lesions in liver. Bone marrow biopsy positive for DLBLC. Per Hematopoietic manual, primary site would be C778 for multiple lymph node regions involved.
Primary site: Is there a physician priority list for coding primary site? For example, the surgeon states during a pancreatectomy that the primary is in body while the pathologist states in their synopitc report that primary is neck; neither is in agreement, or neither is available for confirmation.
As a general rule, the surgeon is usually in a better position to determine the site of origin compared to the pathologist. The surgeon sees the tumor in its anatomic location, while the pathologist is often using information given to him/her by the surgeon and looking at a specimen removed from the anatomic landmarks. However, when a pathologist is looking at an entire organ, such as the pancreas, he/she may be able to pinpoint the site of origin within that organ.
In the case of pancreas body vs. neck, the neck is a thin section of the pancreas located between the head and the body. It may be a matter of opinion whether a tumor is located in the "body" vs. the "neck." In the situation you describe, we would give preference to the surgeon and assign the code for body of pancreas, C251.
Histology (Pre-2007)--Breast: Should the histology "non-invasive papillary carcinoma" along with the comment "solid intraductal papillary proliferation includes cytologically atypical cells with scattered mitotic figures" be coded to 8503/2 [intraductal papillary carcinoma] or 8050/2 [papillary carcinoma in situ]?
For tumors diagnosed prior to 2007:
The best histology code for this breast case is 8503/2 [Noninfiltrating intraductal papillary carcinoma]. According to the WHO Classification of Tumors for Breast, Papillary carcinoma, non-invasive is a synonym for Intraductal papillary carcinoma. Further, code a more specific histologic type when found in the microscopic description, according to the SEER Program Code manual.
For tumors diagnosed 2007 or later, refer to the MP/H rules. If there are still questions about how this type of tumor should be coded, submit a new question to SINQ and include the difficulties you are encountering in applying the MP/H rules.
Reportability--Hematopoietic, NOS: Is a "myeloproliferative disorder" reportable when the pathology report comment states this likely represents the "early/cellular phase of myelofibrosis/myeloid metaplasia" with cytogenetics and PCR pending?
For cases diagnosed prior to 1/1/2010:This case is not yet reportable. The bone marrow diagnosis "myeloproliferative disorder" is not reportable to SEER. It is likely that if this condition progresses, it will eventually be reportable.
For cases diagnosed 2010 forward, refer to the Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Neoplasm Case Reportability and Coding Manual and the Hematopoietic Database (Hematopoietic DB) provided by SEER on its website to research your question. If those resources do not adequately address your issue, submit a new question to SINQ.
Radiation Therapy--Breast: If hospital records indicate that a mammocyte intracavitary radiation therapy device was placed in the breast, but there is no follow-up documentation of radiation actually being given, should we code radiation 2 (implants) or 8 (recommended, unknown if given)?
Assign code 8 [recommended, unknown if administered]. Check this case periodically, and others coded 8. Update if further information becomes available.
Histology (Pre-2007)--Melanoma: How is a 2004 "malignant melanoma, nodular type, epithelioid cell type" coded?
For tumors diagnosed prior to 2007:
Assign code 8771 [Epithelioid cell melanoma]. Code the cell type when specified.
For tumors diagnosed 2007 or later, refer to the MP/H rules. If there are still questions about how this type of tumor should be coded, submit a new question to SINQ and include the difficulties you are encountering in applying the MP/H rules.
CS Site Specific Factor--Head & Neck: If a lymph node dissection of the neck reveals that 1/24 lymph nodes is positive and the positive 5.6 cm lymph node extends throughout levels II-IV, how are the SSF 3 (status of levels I-III lymph nodes) and SSF4 (status of levels IV-V lymph nodes) fields coded?
This answer was provided in the context of CSv1 coding guidelines. The response may not be used after your registry database has been converted to CSv2.According to the CS Steering Committee, code 999 for SSF 3 and SSF 4. In this case, do not make assumptions about which level of lymph nodes were involved.
Surgery of Primary Site--Breast: How is this field coded when a re-excision follows a prior mastectomy?
Code the most extensive surgery in Surgery of Primary Site. This is a cumulative field. Assign the appropriate code including all surgeries of the primary site performed during the first course of treatment.
The correct code for mastectomy followed by re-excision will depend on the extent of the re-excision. For example, if the re-excision removed muscle, code radical mastectomy.
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