C25.2
BillableMalignant neoplasm of tail of pancreas
HCC Category Mapping
V28HCC 20 — Lung and Other Severe Cancers
0.000V24HCC 9 — Lung and Other Severe Cancers
0.973ESRDHCC 9 — Lung and Other Severe Cancers
0.000RxHCCHCC 20 — Cancer, Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct
0.000What This Code Means
Cancer that starts in the tail of the pancreas, the narrow left portion of the organ near the spleen.
Coding Tips
- •Tail cancers may involve the spleen and left kidney, requiring documentation of extent of disease
- •These tumors may present with pain or splenic involvement rather than jaundice
Clinical Significance
Malignant neoplasm of the tail of the pancreas is the least common primary pancreatic cancer location but often presents at the most advanced stage because tail tumors rarely cause bile duct obstruction or early symptoms. These tumors may be discovered only when they invade surrounding structures like the spleen, left kidney, or left adrenal gland, or when they cause abdominal pain from nerve involvement. Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy is the standard surgical approach when resectable.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Documentation confirming tail of pancreas as the primary tumor location
- ✓Histological type (adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumor, acinar cell carcinoma)
- ✓Stage of disease including splenic and retroperitoneal involvement
- ✓Resectability assessment
- ✓Whether splenectomy is included in the surgical plan
Commonly Confused Codes
C25.1 — Body of pancreas: the body is the central segment; the tail is the narrow left portion extending toward the spleenC25.9 — Pancreas, unspecified: use C25.2 when tail location is documentedC25.8 — Overlapping sites: use when the tumor spans the tail into the body or other segmentsC7A.1 — Malignant carcinoid tumors of small intestine: neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreatic tail are coded under C25 or C7A.0 depending on type
Code Hierarchy
└C25Malignant neoplasm of pancreas└C25.2Malignant neoplasm of tail of pancreas
└C25.2Malignant neoplasm of tail of pancreas