8/22/2022 – NAACCR has released the 2023 updates to the ICD-O-3 histology and behavior codes. All Registrars, regardless of which type of facility, should become familiarw with the proposed changes and guidelines and coordinate with your software vendor updates to their software and edits metafiles.
To download the files (at no charge), click here ICD O 3 Coding Updates – NAACCR. Updates are available in PDF and Excel file formats. Code lists are available in numeric and alpha tables. Also available is an annotated histology list with descriptions. Be sure to read the Coding Guidelines document for the summary of changes and how updates will be implemented and the rationale for doing so.
There is no shortage on synonymous terminology in the medical record. Knowing whether to accession a case, or how to code the extent of disease, in a case that is laced with synonymous or ambiguous terms can be daunting to say the least! Fortunately, there are standard-setting agencies guidelines to help the Cancer Registrar make the right determination and assign proper codes to the case abstract.
Recently a query was posted to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) SINQ inquiry system (SINQ #20210036) that caught our eye. Paraphrased, the question was: are lymphovascular invasion and lymphovascular space invasion the same term or do they describe something different? Great question!
So we went to our favorite pathology dictionary and looked it up. There we learned that lymphovascular invasion, or LVI, is the term given to the movement of cancer cells into either a blood or lymphatic vessel. Once the cancer cells make their move they have the ability to spread to other parts of the body. Cancer Registrars know this movement to another part of the body to be called metastasis.
Lymphovascular invasion is an important prognostic indicator that pathologists may see in the tissue sample. Pathology reports stating the specimen is positive for lymphovascular invasion mean that it was seen in the tissue examined and conversely, if stated as being negative it means it was not seen.
You will be happy to know that according to SEER, the two terms, lymphovascular invasion or lymphovascular space invasion are synonmous with one another.
Now, just in case you’re interested in what the pathologist sees when he/she finds lymphovascular invasion, we found an example from specimen slide on the UCDavis Department of Pathology website. In the graphic below you can clearly see the malignant cells (small dark circles or dots) spilling out of the lymphatic space (white) and into the surrounding tissue.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
So now you know the difference between the two terms!
There are over 300 different types of cancer. A cancer registrar is specially trained in how to correctly gather the data from the medical record and to code and classify it for research and strategic planning. From time to time they will come across a type of cancer they may not be as familiar with as compared to cancers like lung, colon, prostate, breast, etc. Having a resource like this one published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is very helpful.
Cancer Registrars collect and analyze data to tell a story about the latest trends in their facility, region, state or nationally. Understanding how the statistics are derived and calculated, especially if you are going to compare your hospital with another program, state or national benchmark is very important.
SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) has made available a series of online videos called Did You Know? The video’s highlight key topics and trends and are helpful in understanding cancer-related statistics.
Here is one of these videos, titled “Cancer Statistics.”
Cancer Statistics | Did You Know? | Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
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