Report | Question ID | Question | Discussion | Answer | Year |
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20071120 | Surgery of Primary Site--Breast: Should code 51 (Modified radical mastectomy without removal of uninvolved contralateral breast) be used when a patient has excisional biopsy (22) and axillary dissection followed by a simple mastectomy without removal of uninvolved contralateral breast (41) as part of the first course of treatment? | Assign code 51 or 52 if a patient has an excisional biopsy and axillary dissection followed by a simple mastectomy during the first course of therapy. Code the cumulative result of the surgeries, which is a modified radical mastectomy in this case. SEER collects only one surgery code per case. Code the most invasive, extensive or definitive surgery in Surgery of Primary Site. |
2007 | |
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20170079 | Surgery of Primary Site--Corpus Uteri: Is surgery for a uterine corpus primary described as total abdominal hysterectomy-bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAH-BSO) with specimens including uterine corpus, cervix, bilateral ovaries and fallopian tubes, and bilateral parametria coded as a modified radical hysterectomy? It would be very helpful if an explanation of the difference between a total hysterectomy, modified radical hysterectomy, and radical hysterectomy can be included. See Discussion. |
Surgery text indicates TAH-BSO with bilateral pelvic and paraaortic lymph node dissection. The pathology report indicates the specimen includes: Uterine corpus, cervix, bilateral ovaries and fallopian tubes, bilateral parametria. The Gross Description also indicates: Representative sections submitted in 16 cassettes as follows: A1: Anterior cervix A2: Posterior cervix A3: Full thickness anterior lower uterine segment A4: Full thickness posterior lower uterine segment A5: Tumor A6-A7: Full thickness anterior endomyometrium to include tumor A8-A10: Full thickness posterior endomyometrium with tumor A11: Representative sections of right fallopian tube and fimbria A12: Representative sections of right ovary A13: Representative sections of left fallopian tube and fimbria A14: Representative sections of left ovary A15: Right parametrial tissue A16: Left parametrial tissue A17-23: Remainder of cervix. |
Assign code 50: total hysterectomy with removal of tube(s) and/or ovary(ies). Removes both the corpus and cervix uteri. It may also include a portion of the vaginal cuff. Both the radical and modified radical hysterectomy (code 60) include removal of part of the vagina, not mentioned in the pathology or surgery text. The SEER Glossary for Registrars defines the procedures as follows. Total hysterectomy: Surgery to remove the entire uterus, including the cervix Radical hysterectomy: Surgery to remove the uterus, cervix and part of the vagina. The ovaries, fallopian tubes and nearby lymph nodes may also be removed. Modified radical hysterectomy: Surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, upper part of the vagina, and nearby ligaments and tissues. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed. In this type of surgery, not as many tissues and/or organs are removed as in a radical hysterectomy. |
2017 |
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20210069 | EOD 2018/Summary Stage 2018--Intrahepatic Bile Duct: How should Extent of Disease (EOD) Primary Tumor (PT) be coded for invasion of or into (but not through) the visceral peritoneum for an intrahepatic bile duct primary? See Discussion. |
Invasion of the visceral peritoneum is Regional (code 2) in Summary Stage. EOD PT code 500 is for invasion BEYOND the visceral peritoneum into adjacent connective tissues, and maps to T3 and Regional Summary Stage, but that code seems too extensive. All lower EOD codes map to Localized Summary Stage. |
Assign code 500 for EOD Primary Tumor for now. We have confirmed with AJCC that "invasion of" but not "through" the visceral peritoneum maps to a T2 and not T3. Involvement of the visceral peritoneum for Summary Stage is Regional and does not make a distinction between "invasion of" or "invasion through." Any involvement of the visceral peritoneum is regional. To correct this situation would require a new code, which would derive a T2/RE. That code will be added to the updates for 2023. Code 500 will derive the appropriate Summary Stage of 2 (Regional). We are aware that this will derive the incorrect T; however, there is no work around at this time that will derive the correct T and Summary Stage, so we are defaulting to deriving the correct Summary Stage. |
2021 |
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20230062 | Update to current manual/EOD 2018/EOD Primary Tumor--Appendix: Is it correct to code Extent of Disease (EOD) Primary Tumor as code 500 (Invasion of/through serosa (mesothelium) (visceral peritoneum)) and EOD Mets as code 30 (Intraperitoneal metastasis (peritoneal carcinomatosis) WITH or WITHOUT peritoneal mucinous deposits containing tumor cells), when the resection pathology report for a low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN) proves “Tumor Extent: Acellular mucin invades visceral peritoneum (serosa)” as well as metastatic LAMN within the right lower quadrant peritoneum? See Discussion. |
This patient had serosal involvement and the pathologist and managing physician staged this as pT4a disease. This extension seems best captured by EOD Primary Tumor code 500. Additionally, the patient had discontinuous metastatic involvement of the peritoneum, and this was staged by the pathologist and managing physician as pM1b (Intraperitoneal metastasis only, including peritoneal mucinous deposits containing tumor cells). Although this peritoneal involvement was present in the right lower quadrant, it was staged as distant metastatic disease and not as part of the primary tumor category. However, currently EOD Primary Tumor code 600 would seem to apply since the peritoneal tumor was in the right lower quadrant. Code 600 is defined as mucinous tumors with peritoneal involvement confined within right lower quadrant. This EOD Primary Tumor code and the physician’s M category assignment do not align; the physician has staged this as distant metastasis (M category, not the T category). Should the peritoneal metastasis (even limited to the right lower quadrant) be included in the EOD Mets field and not in the EOD Primary Tumor field? In other words, should the peritoneal involvement included in EOD Primary Tumor code 600 be reclassified in EOD Mets code 30 (Intraperitoneal metastasis (peritoneal carcinomatosis) WITH or WITHOUT peritoneal mucinous deposits containing tumor cells)? |
Assign code 500 for EOD Primary Tumor and code 30 for EOD Mets. This will correctly derive the T4aM1b stage based on AJCC 8th edition. Abstraction of peritoneal metastasis changed from the T category in the AJCC 7th edition to the M category in the 8th and 9th AJCC editions. As a result, for cases diagnosed in 2018 and later, peritoneal deposits in the right lower quadrant should be abstracted as EOD Primary Tumor code 500 and EOD Mets code 30. However, the EOD Primary Tumor code of 600 has not yet been updated to align with the 8th and 9th AJCC editions. The 2025 updates will correct for this via a conversion for cases diagnosed in 2018 and forward where EOD Primary Tumor = 600 and EOD Mets = 00 or 10 to EOD Primary Tumor = 500 and EOD Mets = 30. Effective immediately, abstract peritoneal deposits in the right lower quadrant as EOD Primary Tumor code 500 and EOD Mets code 30, even though you will still have the ability to assign EOD Primary Tumor code 600 in your abstraction software until the 2025 updates are deployed. |
2023 |
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20170055 | First Course of Treatment/Surgery of Primary Site--Corpus uteri: Do you code total hysterectomy or radical hysterectomy when a specimen indicates the uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and right and left parametrium were resected, but shows no portion of the vagina. See Discussion. |
AFS1-AFS2-frozen section control, endomyometrium; AFS3-frozen section control, subserosal intramural mass; A4-anterior cervix; A5-posterior cervix; A6-anterior cervical endometrial junction; A7-posterior cervical endometrial junction; A8-A10-anterior endomyometrium, including tumor; A11-A13-posterior endomyometrium, including tumor and adjacent mass; A14-random section subserosal mass; A15-left parametrium at margin of resection; A16-right parametrium at margin of resection; A17-A18-left ovary and fallopian tube; A19-A20-right ovary and fallopian tube. The final diagnosis includes Endometrial adenocarcinoma, favor serous carcinoma, with papillary and solid areas. Tumor involves: Cervix present, Right ovary, Left ovary, Right fallopian tube, Left fallopian tube, Right parametrium, Left parametrium. |
Assign code 50 for total hysterectomy. According to Appendix C Surgery Codes for Corpus Uteri of the 2016 SEER Coding and Staging Manual, total hysterectomy is surgery to remove the entire uterus, including the cervix; whereas, radical hysterectomy includes the vagina. |
2017 |
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20140025 | Grade--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: Why isn't "T-cell granular lymphocytic leukemia" (9831/3) coded as "5 T-cell" instead of "9" as specified in the Heme database? My path department did not specify any type of grade, but since "T-cell" is part of the name, wouldn't you code it to "5"? |
Assign code 5 when the diagnosis on the pathology report specifies "T-cell granular lymphocytic leukemia." The Heme DB grade instruction states "Code grade specified by pathologist. If no grade specified, code 9." In this case, T-cell was specified - code it. The code for T-cell (5) was not automatically assigned in the Heme DB because of the alternate names for this neoplasm. Some of these include NK-cell. Assign code 8 for alternate names with NK.
The alternate names are: Chronic lymphoproliferative disorder of NK cells, Chronic NK-cell lymphocytosis, Chronic NK-large granular lymphocyte (LGL) lymphoproliferative disorder, CLPD-NK, Indolent large granular NK-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, NK-cell lineage granular lymphocyte proliferative disorder, NK-cell LGL lymphocytosis |
2014 | |
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20210044 | Diagnostic Confirmation--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms--Plasma Cell Myeloma: Can serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) be used as a definitive diagnostic method in the absence of a bone marrow biopsy? Is it appropriate to assign code 5 (Positive laboratory test/marker study) if there is no histological confirmation? See Discussion. |
Patient was diagnosed with lambda myeloma based on the M spike found on serum protein electrophoresis. A bone marrow biopsy was performed, but it was an insufficient sample. SPEP is not listed in the Hematopoietic Database as a lab test that can be used as a definitive diagnostic method. Since the physician did base the diagnosis on the SPEP result, would it be appropriate to assign code 5 (Positive laboratory test/marker study) since there was no histological confirmation? Under code 5, the Hematopoietic Manual states: Laboratory tests are listed under Definitive Diagnostic Methods in the Hematopoietic Database. |
Assign code 5 in Diagnostic Confirmation. We consulted with an expert hematopathologist who stated that SPEP would qualify for a diagnostic confirmation code of 5. He also stated that normally a SPEP is followed by a bone marrow biopsy. SPEP has been added to the Definitive Diagnostic Methods for plasma cell myeloma (9732/3). |
2021 |
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20130088 | Grade--Heme & Lymphoid Neoplasms: Should Grade be coded to 5 [T-cell] or 9 [cell type not determined, not stated, not applicable] for anaplastic large cell lymphoma, NOS [9714/3]? See Discussion. | Under the Grade section in the Heme DB for anaplastic large cell lymphoma, NOS it indicates the following:
"Grade - Code grade specified by pathologist. If no grade specified, code 9."
There is no reference in the Grade section that we should look at the Abstractor Notes or a specific Module in the Heme DB for additional information. However, in the Abstractor Notes section it states, "Grade is T-cell (5) unless pathologist specifically designates as a B-cell (see G2 rule)." These two statements are conflicting. Which is the correct grade? |
Assign code 5 [T-cell] for anaplastic large cell lymphoma [9714/3] unless the pathologist specifies that the histology is a B-cell disease process. See Grade rule G2, Note 2.
In the Heme DB, there is a default value in the Grade field for histologies that do not have a grade specified. However, this particular histology does not default to code 9. There was an error in the Grade section of the 2010 and 2012 versions of Heme DB that has now been corrected in the latest release. |
2013 |
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20170034 | Surgery of Primary Site--Breast: Would you code a unilateral breast simple mastectomy with tissue expanders and AlloDerm or an acellular dermal matrix as Code 45, Reconstruction with Implant, or Code 46, Reconstruction with Combined Tissue and Implant? See Discussion. |
Since acellular dermal matrix/AlloDerm comes from human tissue donors with cells removed and sterilized to promote regenesis and decrease rejection, is Alloderm coded as "Tissue' as it also "provides an additional layer of tissue between the skin and the implant? |
Assign code 43 for a simple mastectomy with tissue expanders and acellular dermal matrix/AlloDerm. The tissue expander indicates preparation for reconstruction. The acellular dermal matrix/AlloDerm is not coded because, while they often accompany an implant procedure, they are not the principle element of reconstructive procedures. The principle elements would be tissue from the patient and/or prosthetics (e.g., gel implants). |
2017 |
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20160007 | Surgery of Primary Site--Breast: If the diagnosis is a single primary involving both breasts, do we code 41 Surgery Primary site with 1 in Surgery Other site, or code 76 Surgery Primary site with 0 in Surgery Other site? See discussion. |
In Appendix C- Breast (SEER Manual 2015) it states under the codes for TOTAL MASTECTOMY (Codes 40-49, 75): For single primaries only, code removal of involved contralateral breast under the data item Surgical Procedure/Other Site (NAACCR Item # 1294). [SEER Note: Example of single primary with removal of involved contralateral breast--Inflammatory carcinoma involving both breasts. Bilateral simple mastectomies. Code Surgery of Primary Site 41 and code Surgical Procedure of Other Site 1.] HOWEVER, underneath that it states code 76 is used for: 76 Bilateral mastectomy for a single tumor involving both breasts, as for bilateral inflammatory carcinoma. So |
Assign code 41 with 1 in surgery other site for simple mastectomy. Assign code 76 with 0 in surgery other site for a more extensive mastectomy. |
2016 |