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Report Produced: 02/11/2026 09:57 AM

Report Question ID Question Discussion Answer Year
20031176 EOD-Patholgic Review of Number of Regional Lymph Nodes Examined: How is this field coded when there is no lymph node count in the final pathology diagnosis and the gross description states "four possible lymph nodes are dissected"? See Description. Patient with kidney cancer underwent nephrectomy and lymph node removal. Final path diagnosis was Lymph nodes, pericaval biopsy, lymph nodes with no evidence of carcinoma. Per Gross description: Received in formalin as pericaval lymph node is 2.5 cm piece of fibrofatty tissue, from which four possible lymph nodes are dissected. For cases diagnosed 1998-2003: Code the number of regional lymph nodes examined as 04. This is as accurate as possible for this situation. 2003
20091019 MP/H Rules/Histology--Hematopoietic, NOS: Can a diagnosis of multiple myeloma be made if a bone marrow biopsy is negative? See Discussion. Patient with large mass nasal cavity. Biopsy shows plasmacytoma. Fine needle aspiration of the acetabulum is consistent with multiple myeloma. Skeletal survey shows multiple lytic lesions. Bone marrow biopsy is negative for myeloma. In light of negative bone marrow biopsy can this case be coded as multiple myeloma?

For cases diagnosed prior to 1/1/2010:Code this case as multiple myeloma. The fine needle aspiration of the acetabulum is a biopsy of bone marrow. According to our pathologist consultant, the positive bone marrow biopsy (acetabulum) and the multiple lytic bone lesions confirm multiple myeloma. The negative bone marrow biopsy is likely due to an insufficient sample.

For cases diagnosed 1/1/10 and later, 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.

 2009
20031207 Hormone Therapy--Hematopoietic, NOS: Is hormonal therapy coded for myelodysplastic syndrome, NOS? See Description. Patient with myelodysplastic syndrome refused chemotherapy and was treated with high dose steroids. Patient also received Rituxan. Hormones, such as glucocorticoids and androgens, are generally of little if any benefit to patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, according to the NCI PDQ. Do not code steroids as treatment in the example above. 2003
20031193 Surgery of Primary Site--Lung: Is a core-out of the main bronchus coded in this field? See Description. Patient with right lung cancer was not a surgical candidate because of extent of disease. Prior to receiving radiation, patient underwent bronchoscopy, which revealed obstruction from right main bronchial tumor. Core-out of the tumor was undertaken, and a specimen was sent for path evaluation. The physician stated that this was a palliative procedure to relieve obstruction.

Do not code bronchoscopy to clear the airway as surgery of primary site. When combined with laser therapy, cryosurgery, or other tumor destruction, or when combined with excision of tumor, code as surgery of primary site.

For cases diagnosed 1998-2003: Code surgery of primary site for the case described above to 23 [Excision, NOS]. Tissue was excised and sent to pathology.

 2003
20110074 First course treatment/Date therapy initiated--Breast: How is the Date of Initiation of Hormone Therapy field coded when a patient undergoes "Tamoxifen blunting" to achieve better MRI imaging after a biopsy but prior to definitive surgery which is followed by adjuvant Tamoxifen therapy? See Discussion. Patients are prescribed two weeks of "Tamoxifen blunting" to achieve better MRI imaging after biopsy confirmation of an ER/PR positive breast carcinoma. The Tamoxifen is subsequently discontinued and the patient has definitive surgery. Following surgery, maintenance Tamoxifen is initiated. Which date should be recorded for the Date of Initiation of Hormone Therapy field? Is it the first date when Tamoxifen blunting started or the post-surgical date when maintenance Tamoxifen is initiated? Use the post-surgical start date of maintenance Tamoxifen to code the Date of Initiation of Hormone Therapy field. The actual hormone treatment begins after surgery when Tamoxifen blunting was performed. The low dose administered prior to surgery does not affect the cancer. 2011
20000243 Surgery of Primary Site--Lung: What code is used to represent "photodynamic therapy" (PDT) for lung primaries? See Discussion. PDT is not listed in the Surgery to Primary Site field codes for lung. For cases diagnosed 2003 and later, code the Surgery of Primary Site field to 19 [Local destruction or excision, NOS] for lung primaries. Photodynamic therapy is a surgical procedure that results in the local destruction of tumor. 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
20110080 Grade--Kidney, renal pelvis: How is this field coded for a non-invasive high grade papillary urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis? See Discussion. Per instructions in the 2010 SEER Manual, Appendix C, Coding Guidelines for Bladder, "Code grade 9 (unknown) for non-invasive urothelial (transitional) tumors." The Coding Guidelines listed under Renal Pelvis, Ureter are only for Kidney [C649]. Do the grade instructions under bladder apply to ALL non-invasive urothelial tumors, or are we to use the kidney grading instructions to code grade for renal pelvis and ureter malignancies? Code grade to 4 [high grade]. Follow the instructions in the main part of the 2010 SEER Manual under the data item Grade (pages 73 - 76). There are no specific instructions for coding grade for renal pelvis. Apply the general instructions in the absence of site-specific instructions. 2011
20110035 Primary site--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: How is the primary site coded when both a lymph node biopsy and peripheral blood are positive for CLL/SLL? See Discussion. Per Module 3, Rules PH5 and PH6 in the Hematopoietic Manual, it states that CLL has peripheral blood involvement and SLL does not.

For cases diagnosed 2010 and forward, access the Hematopoietic Database at http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph.

Code the primary site to C421 [bone marrow] and histology to 9823/3 [CLL/SLL]. Per Rule there may be involvement of bone marrow AND lymph node(s), lymph node region(s), organ(s), or tissue(s) but as long as the peripheral blood and/or bone marrow are involved, the primary site is bone marrow (C421).

SEER*Educate provides training on how to use the Heme Manual and DB. If you are unsure how to arrive at the answer in this SINQ question, refer to SEER*Educate to practice coding hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms. Review the step-by-step instructions provided for each case scenario to learn how to use the application and manual to arrive at the answer provided. https://educate.fhcrc.org/LandingPage.aspx.

2011
20120080 MP/H Rules/Multiple primaries--Kidney, renal pelvis/Bladder: How many primaries are accessioned if the patient was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma in situ of the renal pelvis in October 2006, TCC in situ of the bladder in July 2008 and TCC in situ of the ureter in November 2009?. See Discussion. Per MP/H rule M8, the TCC in situ of the bladder diagnosed in July 2008 is the same primary as the TCC in situ of the renal pelvis diagnosed in October 2006. Should the new TCC in situ of the ureter diagnosed in November 2009 be a new primary per rule M7 because the renal pelvis TCC in situ was diagnosed in 2006? Or does the 3 year time frame for rule M7 start from the date of the last recurrence (July 2008)?

Abstract two primaries for this scenario per Rule M7. The first primary is the renal pelvis in Oct. 2006; the second primary is the ureter in Nov. 2009. The bladder tumor in July 2008 is not a new primary per Rule M8.

Compare the diagnosis date of the current (most recent) tumor to the diagnosis date of the original tumor. This applies even if the patient had six occurrences in-between these dates; you still compare the current tumor to the diagnosis date of the original tumor and ignore recurrences in this process.

See slide 6 of the Beyond the Basics presentation,

http://www.seer.cancer.gov/tools/mphrules/training_adv/SEER_MPH_Gen_Instruc_06152007.pdf.

2012