| Report | Question ID | Question | Discussion | Answer | Year |
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20120079 | Reportability: Is positive urine cytology (ex: malignant cells interpreted as carcinoma) by itself reportable? If so, is the case coded to bladder by default or is is coded to C689, urinary system, NOS? | Urine cytology positive for malignancy is reportable. Code the primary site to C689 in the absence of any other information.
However, if a subsequent biopsy of a urinary site is negative, do not report the case.
For 2013 diagnoses and forward, report these cases when they are encountered. Do not implement new/additional casefinding methods to capture these cases. As always, do not report cytology cases with ambiguous terminology. |
2012 | |
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20120029 | Primary site--Lung: What is the code for primary site if a small cell carcinoma presents as mediastinal masses? | Code the primary site to main bronchus [C340].
Primary small cell carcinoma in the thymus/mediastinum is rare. A bronchial lesion with extension into the mediastinum is much more likely. In a case like this, it is difficult to be sure exactly where the tumor arose, however, it is recommended the default site be the main bronchus when there is no information to the contrary.
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2012 | |
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20120095 | MP/H Rules/Multiple primaries--Breast: How many primaries are accessioned if a patient is diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the left breast, (ductal with apocrine features type on biopsy), and an incidental lobular carcinoma in the right breast? See Discussion. | A 1.2 cm lobular carcinoma was incidentally discovered during the work-up of the patient's left breast that was inflammatory carcinoma. The lobular carcinoma on the right was localized without any skin involvement. Rule M6 indicates inflammatory breast carcinoma in either breast is a single primary. Does rule M6 apply when the patient has inflammatory carcinoma in one breast and a separate lobular carcinoma in the other? | For cases diagnosed 2007 or later, accession two primaries, ductal with apocrine features in the left breast and lobular carcinoma in the right breast.
The steps used to arrive at this decision are:
Open the Multiple Primary and Histology Coding Rules Manual. Choose one of the three formats (i.e., flowchart, matrix or text). Go to the Breast MP rules because site specific rules exist for this primary.
Start at the MULTIPLE TUMORS module, rule M4. The rules are intended to be reviewed in consecutive order within a module. The patient has tumors in both the right and left breasts.
Rule M6 does not apply because inflammatory carcinoma involves only the left breast and the patient has a different histology in the right breast and there is no mention of inflammatory carcinoma in that breast. In this situation continue to the next applicable rule. |
2012 |
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20120025 | MP/H Rules/Multiple Primaries--Brain and CNS: How many primaries are abstracted if a patient was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma to the brain in 2003 and subsequently was diagnosed with meningeal melanomatosis? See Discussion. | Meningeal melanomatosis has a separate ICD-O-3 code, but is also a very rare form of melanoma. | This is a single primary coded to the site of the original melanoma. The brain and meninges are both metastatic sites. The MP/H Rules do not apply to metastases.
This case was sent to the melanoma physician specialists. The physician stated that, in this case, the meningeal involvement is secondary to the brain involvement (metastatic spread). Whenever brain metastases are diagnosed, the meningeal spread is metastatic. |
2012 |
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20120056 | First course treatment--Corpus Uteri: Should Arimidex be coded as hormone therapy for an endometrioid adenocarcinoma? See Discussion. | Per the SEER Manual, endometrial cancers may be treated with progesterone which is coded as hormone therapy for these primaries. As endometrioid adenocarcinomas are hormonally-dependent carcinomas, should an aromatase inhibitor or anti-estrogen agent also be coded as hormone therapy? | Arimidex has not been approved to treat endometrial cancer. It is not prescribed for pre-menopausal women. Clarify with the physician why the drug was being used. If the physician states Arimidex was given to reduce tumor burden, code as hormone therapy.
See the SEER*Rx interactive database, http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/seerrx/ |
2012 |
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20120045 | Primary site--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: What is the primary site of a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma described on a PET and an abdominal CT scan as a large pelvic mass displacing bladder and uterus, inseparable from anus, right pelvic sidewall, cervix and bilateral ovaries and per the clinician as stage IIE? See Discussion. | PET: large pelvic mass displacing bladder and uterus, inseparable from anus, right pelvic sidewall, cervix and bilateral ovaries. Diffuse abnormal uptake within this mass as well as the adjacent structures. No regional hypermetabolic adenopathy is noted and no imaging evidence of distant metastatic disease. The PET also demonstrated diffuse abnormal uptake within the pelvic mass as well as the adjacent structures.
CT abdomen: large pelvic mass invading vagina and inseparable from the anus, right pelvic sidewall, cervix and bilateral ovaries.
MD states: "stage IIE with invasion of vagina." |
For cases diagnosed 2010 and forward, access the Hematopoietic Database at http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph.
Per Rule 18, code the primary site to C775 [pelvic lymph nodes]. Per Rule PH18, code the primary site to the specified lymph node region when the site of lymphoma is described only as a mass. This rule also indicates that the Code pelvic lymph nodes [C775] when the lymph nodes are described as a pelvic mass.
This rule has been effect for SEER for over 20 years. It is based on the fact that a number of lymphomas that originate in nodes are not diagnosed until those nodes become matted or fixed. The presentation is then one of a "mass" in those nodal regions.
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. |
2012 |
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20120049 | Reportability--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: Is polycythemia vera secondary to volume depletion reportable? | For cases diagnosed 2010 and forward, access the Hematopoietic Database at http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph.
Secondary polycythemia vera is not reportable. See Appendix F.
Primary polycythemia vera is a condition in which there is an overproduction of blood cells due to a neoplastic process. Secondary polycythemia vera is an over production of red blood cells caused by a co-morbidity, in this case, volume depletion.
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. |
2012 | |
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20120001 | Multiple primaries/Recurrence--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: How many primaries are abstracted if a patient was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 2001 and was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving the larynx in 2011? See Discussion. | Does the medical oncologist's statement that this is a second malignancy, rather than a recurrence, given the length of the disease-free interval, affect the number of primaries abstracted? | For cases diagnosed 2010 and forward, access the Hematopoietic Database at http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph.
Abstract a single primary per Rule M2; a single histology is a single primary diagnosed. The histology code for both the 2001 and 2011 diagnoses is 9680/3[diffuse large B-cell lymphoma]. Case is coded as diagnosed in 2001.
The hematopoietic physician experts say that the issue with lymphomas is that the patient may be disease-free then recur years later. Even though years have passed, this is still a recurrence or relapse. Currently, there are no molecular markers that are able to distinguish "new primaries" from recurrences. There are also no established criteria for timing rules that could be used to determine a new primary from a recurrence.
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. |
2012 |
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20120002 | Histology/Diagnostic confirmation--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: How are histology and diagnostic confirmation coded when a patient has a clinical diagnosis of lymphoma but a pathologic diagnosis of malignant neoplasm, NOS? See Discussion. |
This patient had CT scans showing extensive bilateral retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma and left axillary lymphadenopathy. Thin core biopsies were done of the left axillary lymph nodes and immunohistology pathology was read as malignant neoplasm with extensive necrosis. Flow cytometry analysis of the sample shows no definitive or sufficient CD45+ events for informative analysis. Karyotype analysis could not be performed on this specimen due to inadequate sample. FISH analysis using IGH break apart probe showed no evidence of clonal rearrangement in limited number of cells available for analysis. The physician's diagnosis is probable lymphoma, no further workup felt necessary because patient would not tolerate chemotherapy anyway and hospice was felt most appropriate care for patient.
The definitive diagnostic method for lymphoma, NOS is histologic confirmation, but the only histologic confirmation was of "malignant neoplasm with extensive necrosis." Should the histology and diagnostic confirmation be coded as lymphoma, NOS [9590/3] and imaging without microscopic confirmation [7] or malignancy, NOS [8000/3] and positive histology [1]? |
For cases diagnosed 2010 and forward, access the Hematopoietic Database at http://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph.
Code the histology to 9590/3 [malignant lymphoma, NOS] and the diagnostic confirmation to 7 [radiology and other imaging techniques without microscopic confirmation]. Per the Diagnostic Confirmation Coding Instructions for Heme and Lymphatic Neoplasms, use code 1 when ONLY the biopsy was used to diagnose the specific histology. The biopsy only confirmed a malignancy; the scan confirmed the specific diagnosis of lymphoma.
Note that a clinical diagnosis can be a definitive diagnostic method for malignant lymphoma, NOS. In this case, the biopsy was inadequate and a more specific diagnosis could not be made by histology. Because no further work-up was pursued, this NOS diagnosis of malignant lymphoma was a clinical diagnosis only.
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. |
2012 |
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20120089 | MP/H Rules/Histology--Colon: The final diagnosis on a path report for a colon specimen says: Is a colon specimen final diagnosis of carcinoma in situ in a serrated adenoma coded to 8010/2, 8210/2 or 8213/2? | For cases diagnosed 2007 or later, code the histology as 8213/2 [carcinoma in situ in a serrated adenoma].
The steps used to arrive at this decision are:
: Apply ICD-O-3 rule F (Matrix principle) and assign the behavior code /2 when the behavior assigned by the pathologist differs from the usual behavior as given in the ICD-O-3.
: Open the Multiple Primary and Histology Coding Rules Manual. Choose one of the three formats (i.e., flowchart, matrix or text) and go to the Colon Histology rules.
: Start at the SINGLE TUMOR module, Rule H1. The rules are intended to be reviewed in consecutive order within a module. Stop at rule H4. Code the histology as 8213/2.
Note: The histology 8213 (adenocarcinoma in serrated adenoma) will be added to rule H4 in the next revision. |
2012 |
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