ICD-10: 153.8 Makes Way for C18.8, Putting the Focus on Overlapping Sites

Anatomic sites will remain important for choosing colon neoplasm codes.

Under ICD-9, finding the code for colon cancer of overlapping sites takes some detective work. ICD-10 will make the task a little easier.

ICD-9: In some colon cancer cases, physicians can have a hard time determining the cancer's primary site if the cancer has already reached neighboring tissue. Under ICD-9, you use 153.8 (Malignant neoplasm of other specified sites of large intestine) to describe this diagnosis. The code definition may leave you wondering whether this is the most appropriate code for the condition, but an inclusion note with the code clarifies that [...]

- Published on 2011-09-07