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Report Produced: 06/27/2026 23:21 PM

Report Question ID Question Discussion Answer Year
20000493 EOD-Clinical Extension--Prostate: For prostate cancer, can an elevated PSA be used to code metastasis? See discussion.

5/31/98 PE: 30 gm prostate with nodularity, suspicious for CA.

Final diagnosis: Stage D Ca of prostate with mets, NOS

PTA IVP: Normal collecting system

5/11/98 CXR: NED

PSA 86.3 Suggestive of prostate Ca per MD

5/13/98 TURP and bilat. orchiectomy: Plan was to perform orchiectomy as treatment of choice if biopsy was positive. Appears MD feels that the patient has mets, NOS based on the elevated PSA.

5/13/98 TURP Adenocarcinoma, PD

For cases diagnosed 1998-2003, do not code the EOD-Clinical Extension field based on elevated PSA alone. If a recognized practitioner states that there is metastasis, then metastasis should be coded.

In this case, code the EOD-Clinical Extension field to 85 [Metastasis] because it is Stage D. But if you had D1 or D2 staging based on the involvement of lymph nodes, then that involvement would be coded under EOD lymph nodes and not under the clinical extension field.

 2000
20021094 EOD-Extension/EOD-Lymph Nodes--Testis: If the patient received chemo, should "bulky retroperitoneal adenopathy" be coded as involved lymph nodes in the EOD lymph node involvement field for a testicular primary treated with an orchiectomy that rendered a path diagnosis of "seminoma confined to the testicle"? See discussion. Per an orchiectomy path diagnosis a seminoma was confined to the testicle. The only other workup, other than a scrotal ultrasound, was a staging CT scan that revealed bulky retroperitoneal adenopathy in abdomen and pelvis, as well as mediastinal adenopathy. There was also a peripheral pulmonary nodule. No final clinical diagnosis or stage was provided in the chart. Following the orchiectomy the patient was treated with chemo. Should we also have coded distant site lung involvement?

For cases diagnosed 1998-2003, code the EOD-Lymph Nodes field to 9 [unknown] because "adenopathy" is not used to code lymph node involvement. The physician varied from the usual treatment for a localized testicular carcinoma, which is an orchiectomy. The physician proceeded immediately to chemotherapy as further treatment. It is not clear whether the decision to treat with chemo was based on the nodes and/or lung being involved.

Search the record for the physician's opinion regarding distant metastasis. Do not code distant involvement based on a peripheral pulmonary nodule seen on CT without further proof. If no further information is available, code the EOD-Extension field to 99.

 2002
20031028

EOD-Lymph Nodes--Head & Neck: If a pre-treatment description of a chain of lymph nodes doesn't meet the criteria for involvement but the post-treatment description of the same chain of lymph nodes does, should those nodes be counted as involved in coding EOD? See Description.

(Primary site = larynx)

9/12/02 CT neck showed right cervical chain adenopathy. After chemotherapy, an 11/18/02 CT soft tissue of neck showed decrease in size by 50% of what was probably necrotic metastatic node to right mandibular angle.

The term "lymphadenopathy" should be ignored when determining involvement of lymph nodes per SEER. In this case, a probable necrotic metastatic node is mentioned in a subsequent CT taken after treatment.

Should lymph node involvement be coded to 9 based on the 9/12/02 CT or coded to 4 because of the mention of a decrease in size of what was probably a metatastic node on the 11/18/03 CT?

For cases diagnosed 1998-2003, code EOD using the best information available. In this example, the post-treatment description of lymph nodes. A post-treatment description of lymph nodes can be used to code lymph node involvement in the absence of disease progression. Pre-operative treatment does not affect lymph node involvement.

Case example: Code lymph nodes as involved (codes 1-4 depending on size and number) based on the later CT report.

 2003
20021208 Reason for No Cancer-Directed Surgery: Could you explain why this field would be coded to 1 [Cancer-directed surgery was not recommended] or 2 [Contraindicated due to other conditions] for a case that presents with distant metastasis at diagnosis?

For cases diagnosed 1998-2002:

Code the Reason for No Cancer-Directed Surgery field to 1 [Cancer-directed surgery was not recommended] for patients who present with either a primary site or histology for which surgery is not a standard treatment. Also use code 1 for those patients who present with distant disease for a primary site that is typically treated surgically. Patients with distant metastasis typically do not have surgery performed as part of first course of treatment.

Code 2 [Contraindicated due to other conditions] is used when surgery would normally be recommended for the site (given the current stage of the tumor) but other medical conditions pose too much of a risk for the patient to undergo surgery.

 2002
20010025 Surgery of Primary Site--Prostate: What treatment code is used to represent prostate carcinoma treated with "high intensity focused ultrasound" (HIFU)?

For cases diagnosed 1998 and later:

Code the Surgery of Primary Site field to 17 [Other method of local tumor destruction]. HIFU uses focused energy to destroy tissue. It is classified as a surgical procedure.

 2001
20130091 Treatment, NOS--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: Which guidelines are used to code treatment for hematopoietic diseases diagnosed prior to 2010?

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2010 and later, use the Hematopoietic & Lymphoid Neoplasm Manual for instructions on coding aspirin, blood thinners/anti-clotting medications, and transfusions in the field "Other Treatment."

For cases diagnosed 5/1/2002 12/31/2009, use the instructions in the SEER Manual and the instructions in "Abstracting and Coding Guide for the Hematopoietic Diseases" to code aspirin, blood thinners/anti-clotting medications, and transfusions in the field "Other Treatment."

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2001 04/30/2002 use the instructions in the SEER Manual for collection of aspirin, blood thinners/anti-clotting medications, and transfusions in the field "Other Treatment."

Prior to 1/1/2001, these treatment modalities were not collected.

2013
20021042

Hormone Therapy--Breast: Should Zoladex (gosrelin) or Lupron (leuprolide acetate) be coded as treatment for breast cancer when the physician does not indicate whether or not these drugs are intended as cancer-directed therapy? See discussion.

According to an oncologist at the research hospital in our region, these drugs are given in combination with chemotherapy for two reasons:

1) To preserve ovarian function.

2) The agents may be more effective in treating breast cancer when given in conjunction with chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone.

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2003 to 12/31/2010: Code Zoladex (gosrelin) and Lupron (leuprolide acetate) as 01 [Hormone therapy administered as first course therapy] only when stated to be given as part of the first course of cancer-directed therapy. If you do not know whether these drugs were given to preserve ovarian function or as an adjunct to chemotherapy (i.e, there is no treatment plan), do not code as Hormonal treatment given.

2002
20021018 First Course Treatment--Prostate: How do you code "watchful waiting" in these fields for prostate primaries?

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2003 and later: When "watchful waiting" is the first course of therapy for prostate cancer, code the case as follows:

Date Therapy Initiated: 000000

Surgery of Primary Site: 00

Scope of Regional Lymph Node Surgery: 0

Surgical Procedure of Other Site: 0

Reason for No Cancer-Directed Surgery: 1

Radiation: 0

Chemotherapy: 00

Hormone Therapy: 00

Immunotherapy: 00

Hematologic Transplant and Endocrine Procedures: 00

Other Cancer Directed Therapy: 0

 2002
20010123 Scope of Regional Lymph Node Surgery/EOD-Lymph Node fields: How do you code these fields if a pt has multiple lymph nodes surgeries at different times? See discussion. Example: 1/01/03 Biopsy of 1 sentinel lymph node: positive for metastasis. 1/10/03 Modified radical mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection: ductal carcinoma with 8 neg lymph nodes.

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2003 and later: Code Scope of Reg LN Surgery to 7. Code EOD Lymph Nodes field to 6. Code EOD Pathologic Number of Reg LN Positive and Examined fields to 01 and 09 respectively.

For the Scope of Reg LN Surgery use the highest applicable code number if more than one Scope of Reg LN Surgery was performed. The EOD lymph node fields are cumulative and count all lymph nodes removed during the diagnostic and first course treatment procedures.

 2001
20021197 Scope of Regional Lymph Node Surgery--Breast: How should this field be coded when a mastectomy that removed 3 sentinel lymph nodes is later followed by an axillary lymph node dissection that removed 17 lymph nodes? Should all of the lymph node information be coded to this field, even though the Number of Regional Lymph Nodes Examined field will be coded to the number of lymph nodes from the most definitive surgery (17)?

For cases diagnosed 1/1/2003 and after: Yes, all of the lymph node information should be coded to the Scope of Regional Lymph Node Surgery field using code 7 [Sentinel node biopsy and code 3, 4, or 5 at different times].

The Number of Regional Lymph Nodes Examined field no longer exists for this time frame.

 2002