Inconclusive Diagnosis

Ambiguous terminology may originate in any source document, such as pathology report, radiology report, or clinical report. To assist with vague or inconclusive diagnostic terms SEER provides the cancer registrar with list of ambiguous terms that constitute a reportable diagnosis when they are used in conjunction with a term such as cancer, carcinoma, sarcoma, etc. Current SEER Ambiguous Terminology guidelines can be found in the SEER Program and Coding Manual, https://seer.cancer.gov/tools/codingmanuals/index.html.

Updating a Completed Abstract

The information originally collected on the abstract should be changed or modified under the following circumstances

• To correct coding or abstracting errors
• When clarifications or rule changes retroactively affect data item codes
• When better information becomes available
• When the date of diagnosis confirmed in retrospect to be earlier than the original date abstracted

The updated information should only supplement the original diagnosis and should not reflect tumor progression.

Updated: December 28, 2023