Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Question: The pathology report came back as -Serous tumor of low malignant potential (atypical proliferative serous tumor of ovary).- Should I use 183.0?


Florida Subscriber

Answer: No, you should not use 183.0 (Malignant neoplasm of ovary). This type of tumor is benign because after the oncologist removes it, the patient has a 95-100 percent cure rate.
 
Think of this as a borderline tumor. If it is not invasive (and this appears to be the case here), you should consider the tumor benign and use 220 (Benign neoplasm of ovary).

If your documentation shows invasion, you should consider it a low-grade cancer. In that case, you-ll probably want to use 236.2 (Neoplasm of uncertain behavior of ovary). Check with your physician to determine which he prefers.