| Report | Question ID | Question | Discussion | Answer | Year |
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20230028 | Histology--Vulva: How is the histology coded for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia III (VIN III)/Squamous cell carcinoma in situ from a pathology report of the vulva, 8070/2 for squamous cell carcinoma in situ or 8077/2 for VIN III? The rules do not discuss this particular situation. |
Assign 8077/2 for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, VIN 3 in this case. The WHO Classification of Female Genital Tumors, 5th edition, states that squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) of the vulva are also known as vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, HPV-associated. The term squamous cell carcinoma in situ is not recommended. |
2023 | |
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20230080 | Solid Tumor Rules/Histology--Brain and CNS: What is the histology code for low grade glioma? See Discussion. |
Patient has a 3 cm tumor in the temporal lobe of the brain. This was noted on MRI 12/2022. The radiologist states this is a low-grade glioma and recommends following with routine scans. No pathology or resection performed or planned. Patient has been followed with imaging every six months with stable disease. Low grade glioma is not currently listed in ICD-O-3.2 or the current Solid Tumor Rules. What histology should be assigned to the case? |
Assign 9380/1 for low grade glioma diagnosed 1/1/2018 forward and for low grade glioma diagnosed prior to 1/1/2018 assign code 8000/1 on the advice of our expert neuropathologists. The site/type combination of C71 _ and 9380/1 will flag histology/site/behavior edits which should be overridden. Low grade glioma is an umbrella term or non-specific diagnosis, primarily seen on radiologic reports such as CT scans and MRIs. Often, the patient is actively followed with scans and surgical intervention delayed or not recommended. WHO Classification of Central Nervous System Tumors, 5th edition, does not recognize this term and indicates that tissue diagnosis (including genetic testing) is needed to provide a specific diagnosis. Since biopsy of these “neoplasms” is not routinely done, a definitive diagnosis is not available. Literature searches yielded conflicting information with some stating low grade gliomas are malignant with an indolent clinical course while others felt they were benign. Until such time as WHO proposes a code for this neoplasm, our expert neuropathologists recommend coding glioma, NOS with borderline behavior 9380/1. |
2023 |
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20230040 | First Course Treatment/Hormone Therapy--Prostate: Is Lupron first course therapy in a patient who initially elected active surveillance for prostate cancer and then consented to treatment with Lupron? See Discussion. |
in March, the patient with stage cT1c, Gleason grade 7, prostate cancer elected active surveillance. In April, the patient consented to treatment with Lupron. There was no evidence of disease progression. According to the rules on page 161 of the 2023 SEER manual, we think the answer is yes, but the reporting hospital states that this is second course therapy. |
Code Lupron as second course therapy and code active surveillance as first course therapy in this scenario. The 2023 SEER Manual states to code all treatment data items to 0 or 00 (Not done) when the physician opts for active surveillance, deferred therapy, expectant management, or watchful waiting. Assign code 2 to Treatment Status. Active surveillance is not the same as "refusing treatment." Active surveillance is a valid option offered to the patient. The patient chose this option and later changed their mind. This is not a refusal of recommended treatment. Document all the details in the appropriate treatment text fields. |
2023 |
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20230041 | Solid Tumor Rules/Multiple Primaries--Breast: Is an in situ tumor followed by an invasive tumor a single or multiple primaries? See Discussion. |
In the examples below, are these a single or multiple primaries? Example 1: Tumor 1: C509/left breast, 8520/2 (in situ lobular carcinoma), dx date-01/10/2019 Tumor 2: C509/ left breast, 8500/3 (carcinoma NST), dx date-08/19/2021 Example 2: Tumor 1: C509, right breast, 8520/2, dx date 06/26/2014 Tumor 2: C508, right breast, 8500/3, dx date-05/23/2019 There seems to be some conflicting info on this. In the 2020 Breast Rules there was a note add to the revision history. “M10 Same behavior requirement re-added.” Which is not in the rules now, nor was it noted to the revision changes in the last two change logs. Inquiry 20200070 would seem to indicate that this is multiple primaries, but that contrasts with 20230010 which would seem to indicate a single primary, and an ASK A SEER Registrar question that we received a response to. I don’t see a scenario where rule M17, an invasive tumor DX more than 60 days after an in situ tumor would come into play. If behavior no longer applies to rule M10, at what point did that change get made? Please advise. |
Abstract a single primary when there are multiple tumors of carcinoma NST/duct and lobular using the current Breast Solid Tumor Rules, Rule M10, May 2023 Update, for cases diagnosed 01/01/2018 and forward in the examples provided. The rule also notes to follow the H rules to determine the correct histology code when a mixture of behaviors is present in carcinoma, NST and lobular carcinoma. Rule M5 does not apply as the timeframe is less than 5 years in both examples. The 2023 update for the Breast Solid Tumor Rules (released November 2022) states: The rules for determining single versus multiple primaries in tumors with carcinoma NST/duct and lobular carcinoma have been revised and now align with ICD-O-3.2. Applicable Histology Rules have also been revised to reflect ICD-O-3.2 histology terminology and corresponding ICD-O codes. |
2023 |
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20230061 | EOD 2018/EOD Primary Tumor--Prostate: How is Extent of Disease (EOD) Prostate Pathologic Extension coded when no residual cancer is found? See Discussion. |
Patient was diagnosed with a pT1c prostate cancer in 2022. Patient was then treated with radical prostatectomy. No residual disease was found. Would the correct EOD prostate path extension code be 999 based on Note 8 (code 999 when radical prostatectomy is performed, but there is no information on the extension); or, would we use code 300 (confined to prostate) because the data item "...is used to assign pT category for prostate cancer based on radical prostatectomy specimens" and we know it was limited to the prostate because no residual was found? |
Assign code 300 for EOD Prostate Pathologic Extension. In this scenario, the patient has a localized cancer confirmed by radical prostatectomy; the needle core biopsies likely removed all the cancer. Unlike prostate, other sites’ extension information is collected in EOD Primary Tumor, as seen commonly with breast tumors where the results from the surgical resection are recorded with tumor confined to primary site. |
2023 |
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20230072 | Solid Tumor Rules/Multiple Primaries--Bladder: How many primaries and what M Rule applies to a diagnosis of non-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder in 1996, followed by multifocal non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma involving bladder, prostatic urethra, and left ureter in 2022? See Discussion. |
An argument could be made to apply Rule M10 (timing rule which may result in reporting the case as an additional primary) because the 2022 primary included multiple non-invasive urothelial carcinoma tumors in both the bladder and other urinary sites (coded to site C689, not C679) following a long disease-free interval. While Rule M10 excludes multiple bladder tumors, does that also apply when new, multifocal urothelial tumors arise in both bladder and other urinary sites? Does the presence of any subsequent bladder tumor rule out the use of M10 and one must use M11 that indicates reporting this disease process is a single primary? |
Abstract as a new primary per rule M10, as the subsequent tumors are not limited to the bladder. Code the primary site to C689, per Instructions for Coding Primary Site, #4: "Code Urinary System NOS C689 when there are multiple non-contiguous tumors in multiple organs within the urinary system", and following Note: "The physician subject matter experts (SME) discussed the issue of coding primary site for multifocal/multicentric urinary tract carcinoma. Although the SMEs understood and acknowledged the importance of coding a specific primary site, there is no literature or criteria for determining the organ of origin for multiple tumors involving multiple urinary sites". |
2023 |
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20230068 | Solid Tumor Rules/Histology--Thyroid: What is the histology code for a diagnosis of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma arising in a background of solid papillary thyroid carcinoma? See Discussion. |
Patient had a hemithyroidectomy with the final diagnosis above. There does not appear to be an Other Sites H rule or table that addresses this combination of histologies for thyroid primaries. |
Code to poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma, 8337/3. In this case the tumor is comrpised of two difffernat thyroid histologies: poorly differentiated carcinoma 8337/3 and papillary thyroid carcinoma 8260/3. WHO does not have a code for this combination. Per our endocrine pathology expert, the poorly differentiated carcinoma is the more agressive histology and will determine treatment and progrnosis. |
2023 |
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20230019 | Solid Tumor Rules/Multiple Primaries--Pancreas: How many primaries, and what M Rule applies, when a pancreatectomy identified an invasive adenocarcinoma in one pancreatic head tumor, but multiple separate pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs), WHO grade 1, in the pancreatic body? See Discussion. |
There was a 3.5 cm invasive adenocarcinoma tumor in the pancreatic head. There were four separate, sized pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors measuring 0.9, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.2 cm in the pancreatic body. There are multiple tumors with distinctly different histologies. However, Table 11 (Pancreas Histologies) does not include any entries for neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas (e.g., pancreatic NET, WHO grade 1, histology 8240). While it would seem Rule M19 should apply as they’re distinctly different histologies, because PanNETs are not included in Table 11, it is not clear which M Rule applies to these multiple tumors. If Rule M19 does not apply, we are left with Rule M21 (Abstract a single primary when there are multiple tumors that do not meet any of the above criteria). Are these separate tumors with distinctly different histologies really a single primary? Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are not an uncommon histology, is there a reason these were not included in Table 11? |
Abstract two primaries using the 2023 Solid Tumor Rules, Other Sites, Rule M19, as adenocarcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are two distinct histologies. The WHO Classification of Digestive Tumors, 5th ed., Chapter 10-Tumors of the Pancreas, lists both epithelial tumors and neuroendocrine neoplasm as separate entities. The Solid Tumor Rules histology-specific tables contain histologies that commonly occur in the 19 site-specific histology tables; therefore, not all histologies are listed in the rules. Further, the adenocarcinoma would be staged in the Pancreas Schema, while the neuroendocrine tumor would be staged in the NET Pancreas schema. We will consider adding PanNETs to Table 11 in a future release of the Solid Tumor Rules. |
2023 |
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20230065 | Solid Tumor Rules/Histology--Prostate: Is histology coded as 8045 (Combined small cell carcinoma) for a 2023 diagnosis of two-component carcinoma comprised of both acinar adenocarcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate? See Discussion. |
This patient does not have a previous diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma nor a previous history of androgen-deprivation therapy. Does the logic in the Other Sites Solid Tumor Rules (STRs) noted in SINQ 20200052 still apply? This SINQ confirms a diagnosis of mixed prostatic adenocarcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is 8045. This matches the STRs instructions for Rule H21 and Table 2 (Mixed and Combination Codes), row 1. Row 1 indicates a mixed small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma is combined small cell carcinoma (8045). For a patient without previous treatment, is this the correct mixed histology code? |
Code histology as combined small cell carcinoma (8045) based on the Other Sites Solid Tumor Rules, May 2023 Update, Table 2, Mixed and Combination Codes, for this mixed histology prostate carcinoma consisting of adenocarcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma regardless of treatment status. This is similar to SINQ 20200052 that applies to one tumor with mixed histologies. |
2023 |
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20230048 | Solid Tumor Rules/Histology--Uterine Corpus: How is histology coded for an epithelioid and myxoid leiomyosarcoma of the myometrium? See Discussion. |
Patient had a total abdominal hysterectomy-bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy performed in January 2023 with final diagnosis of myxoid and epithelioid leiomyosarcoma. Diagnosis comment states: The tumor is 15 cm per report. It grows in nests and poorly formed interanastomosing trabeculae and cords that are separated by abundant myxoid background. The cells have an epithelioid morphology with eosinophilic cytoplasm, large nuclei, and very prominent nucleoli. The mitotic activity is overall low ranging from 1 to 3/10 HPFs. Immunohistochemical stains performed at the outside hospital showed diffuse positivity for SMA, desmin, caldesmon, and PR. They are negative for CD10, claudin-4, calretinin, HBM45, MART1 (rare weakly positive cells), PANCK, and SOX10. This immunohistochemical profile supports a smooth muscle derivation of this neoplasm. As this tumor is extensively myxoid, diagnostic criteria differ from the spindle cell leiomyosarcoma. Per Solid Tumor Rules Other Sites, Table 16: Uterine Corpus Histologies, Epithelioid Leiomyosarcoma (8891/3) and Myxoid Leiomyosarcoma (8896/3) are both subtypes of Sarcoma, NOS (8800/3). Per Rule H21, use a combination code when there are multiple specific histologies AND the combination is listed in Table 2 OR there are coding instructions for the combination in the applicable histology Tables 3-21 OR you receive a combination code from Ask A SEER Registrar. Since there is no combination listed in Table 2 and there is no instruction for the combination in Table 16, how should the histology be coded for this tumor? |
Assign code 8891/3 (epithelioid leiomyosarcoma) as cells were described as have an epithelioid morphology; whereas, myxoid was used as a descriptive term and not a specific histologic type. |
2023 |
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