Pathology Report
See the current version of the SEER Program Coding Manual under Reporting Guidelines for the complete coding instructions on the related pathology data items.
- Section IV: Description of this Neoplasm
- Section V: Stage of Disease at Diagnosis
- Section VI: Stage Related Data Items
In addition to cytology reports, there are also pathology reports, which comes from two main sources
- Biopsy
- Surgical Resection
- Procedure that is used to remove the cancer
| Data Item | Comments | Text Field | Source of coding instructions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Diagnosis | The pathology report is usually the date that the cancer is microscopically (histologically) confirmed; however, the date of diagnosis may be prior to the pathology report (e.g., diagnosed on imaging) | #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path | SEER Program Coding Manual, under Reporting Guidelines, Section IV: Description of this Neoplasm |
| Primary Site | Lung has multiple subsites. Review the pathology report to see if you can determine the subsite Note: If the pathology report(s) don’t provide the subsite, review operative report or imaging to see if the subsite is documented |
#2580: Text-Primary Site Title AND #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path |
SEER Program Coding Manual, under Reporting Guidelines, Appendix C, Lung Primary Site Coding Guidelines & Solid Tumor Rules, under Reporting Guidelines, Lung module |
| Histology | This is the ICD-O-3 Morphology code assigned | #2590: Text-Histology Title AND #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path |
Solid Tumor Rules, under Reporting Guidelines, Lung module |
| Behavior | This reflects whether the tumor is benign, borderline, in situ, or invasive | #2590: Text-Histology Title AND #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path |
Solid Tumor Rules, under Reporting Guidelines, Lung module |
| Laterality | Lung is a paired site, so the laterality needs to be determined | #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path | SEER Program Coding Manual, under Reporting Guidelines, Section IV: Description of this Neoplasm |
| Regional Nodes Positive | Records the number regional lymph nodes found to contain metastasis | #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path | SEER Program Coding Manual, under Reporting Guidelines, Section VII: First Course of Therapy |
| Regional Nodes Examined | Records the number of regional lymph nodes that were removed and examined | #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path | SEER Program Coding Manual, under Reporting Guidelines, Section VII: First Course of Therapy |
| Grade | See Grade manual | #2570: Text-Dx-Proc-Path | SEER*RSA, Lung schema OR Schemas | SSDI Data | (naaccr.org)  , Lung schema |
Updated: April 8, 2026
Suggested Citation
SEER Training Modules: Pathology Report. U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Cited 12 April 2026. Available from: https://training.seer.cancer.gov.