General Rules

Coding Regional Lymph Nodes Positive

Regional lymph nodes positive is used to derive the AJCC N component and stage grouping for certain primary sites.

1. Record information about only regional lymph nodes in this field. Involved distant lymph nodes should be coded in the "CS Mets at Dx" field.
2. This field is based on pathology information only. If no LNs were removed for examination, or if a lymph nodes drainage area was removed but no LNs were found, code as 98.
3. Record the total number of lymph nodes removed and found to be positive by pathologic examination, cumulative through all first course procedures.
4. Use code 99 for primary sites Placenta, Brain, Cerebral Meninges, Lymphoma, Hematopoietic, Reticuloendothelial, Immunoproliferative and Myeloproliferative, Ill-defined Sites and Unknown Primary neoplasms.
5. If no nodes examined, code as 98.
6. Positive aspiration is coded to 95.
7. Any combination of positive aspirated, biopsied, sampled or dissected nodes is coded to 97.
8. Do not count positive distant nodes.