Reportability--Anus: Is a final diagnosis on a pathology report of "squamous cell carcinoma of the anus, NOS" assumed to be a skin of anus primary or a primary of the anus?
Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus is reportable unless known or stated to be skin of anus.
Marital Status: Is marital status coded to 2 [married] if the patient is legally married to a same-sex spouse (e.g., patient has a Canadian spouse and in Canada, same-sex marriages are legal)?
Code marital status for same-sex persons based on the legal status. For the case example above, assign code 2 [married].
Primary Site--Unknown & ill-defined site: Should the primary site be coded to C809 [Unknown primary site] or C761 [Thorax, NOS] if the patient died following a limited work-up that included on a cytology on pericardial fluid that was positive for poor differentiated adenocarcinoma?
Based on the information provided, code the primary site to C809 [Unknown primary site]. There is not enough information provided to suggest that the primary site is the thorax or any other location.
Diagnostic Confirmation: How is this field coded for a case with a cytology that is suspicious for ductal carcinoma and the clinical diagnosis is carcinoma? See Discussion.
SINQ 20031152 states that histology for this type of case is to be coded per the clinical diagnosis of "carcinoma." Does it follow then that Diagnostic Confirmation is to be coded 8 (clinical diagnosis only)? Would we code Diagnostic Confirmation differently if the clinician stated that the diagnosis of malignancy was confirmed by the suspicious cytology?
Code diagnostic confirmation as 8 [clincial diagnosis] when there is a suspicious cytology and a physician's clinical diagnosis. Do not accession cases with only suspicious cytology.
Code diagnostic confirmation as 8 when the clinician's diagnosis of malignancy is confirmed by the suspicious cytology. It is still a clinical diagnosis made by the physician using the information available for the case.
Primary Site--Unknown & Ill-defined Site: What is the primary site code for multiple malignant rhabdoid tumors (extra renal) in a newborn infant?
Search for additional information on the location of the primary in this case. A tissue specimen (biopsy) is required for a diagnosis of rhabdoid. Additionaly, there should be scans describing any tumors located in sites other than the biopsy site. If the biopsy site is not assumed to be a metastatic site and is the only location of tumor, code the site of the biopsy as the primary site.
If it is not possible to obtain further information for this case, code the primary site C809 [Unknown primary site].
According to our pathologist consultant, extra-renal rhabdoid tumors have been described in organ sites (liver, GI tract, thyroid, CNS, skin, to name a few) as well as in the soft tissue. Many of the organ site tumors are multiple/multifocal, so multiple tumors in one organ do not necessarily imply metastatic disease and therefore unknown primary site.
Date of Diagnosis/Ambiguous Terminology--Lung: Would the date of a PET scan that states there is a mass in the lung which is "in the range of malignancy " be coded as the date of diagnosis or would the date of a subsequent bronchoscopy with biopsy be used for diagnosis date because it confirms a malignancy?
The date of diagnosis in this case is the date of the bronchoscopy with biopsy.
"In the range of malignancy" is not one of the ambiguous terms that are reportable. Please see the list of reportable ambiguous terms on page 3 of the 2004 SEER manual. Do not accession cases based on ambiguous terms not found on the reportable list.
Reportability--Breast: Is a biopsy proven squamous cell carcinoma of the breast nipple reportable if a subsequent areolar resection shows foreign body granulomatous reaction to suture material and no evidence of residual malignancy in the nipple epidermis?
Yes, this case is reportable. The primary site is C500 [nipple]. There was a diagnosis of malignancy on 2/15/06: "Positive for malignancy." Even though no residual malignancy was found in the later specimen, that does not disprove the malignancy diagnosed on 2/15/06.
Histology (Pre-2007): Is an intra-abdominal mass with the histology of "squamous cell carcinoma arising in a dermoid cyst" coded to 8070/3 [Squamous cell carcinoma] or 9084/3 [Dermoid cyst with malignant transformation]?
For tumors diagnosed prior to 2007:
Code histology to 9084/3 [Dermoid cyst with malignant transformation] per the ICD-O-3. Dermoid cysts may contain a malignant component of a type typically encountered in other organs and tissues.
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.
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