C50.022

Billable

Malignant neoplasm of nipple and areola, left male breast

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 23 — Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers

0.251

V24HCC 12 — Breast, Prostate, and Other Cancers and Tumors

0.150

ESRDHCC 12 — Breast, Prostate, and Other Cancers and Tumors

0.000

RxHCCHCC 22 — Cancer, Other Specified Sites

0.000

What This Code Means

Breast cancer that starts in the nipple or the dark area around the nipple (areola) on the left breast in a male patient.

Coding Tips

•The first '0' indicates nipple and areola location; the '2' specifies left breast; the final '2' indicates male
•Confirm both gender and laterality are documented, as male breast cancer with specific site location is uncommon

Clinical Significance

Malignant neoplasm of the nipple and areola, left male breast represents invasive breast cancer requiring staging, treatment planning, and ongoing surveillance. Breast cancer is risk-adjusted because it demands significant healthcare resources including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and long-term monitoring. Male breast cancer accounts for less than 1% of all breast cancers, making accurate gender-specific coding particularly important for tracking and research.

Documentation Requirements

✓Pathologic confirmation of malignancy — distinguish Paget disease of nipple from invasive carcinoma with nipple involvement
✓Laterality: left breast
✓Gender documented as male to support gender-specific code selection
✓Quadrant or subsite location: nipple and areola
✓Tumor size (T stage) and grade
✓Lymph node status (N stage) — axillary, sentinel node biopsy results
✓Estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 status
✓Stage grouping (I-IV)
✓Current treatment status (active treatment, hormonal therapy, surveillance)

Commonly Confused Codes

C50.021 — Right male breast nipple/areola; verify laterality C50.029 — Unspecified male breast; use only when laterality cannot be determined C50.012 — Same laterality but female breast; verify patient gender C50.121-C50.129 — Central portion of male breast; central portion is distinct from nipple/areola D05.x — Carcinoma in situ of breast; must distinguish invasive from in situ disease N62 — Gynecomastia; benign condition, not malignant

Code Hierarchy

└C50Malignant neoplasm of breast └C50.0Malignant neoplasm of nipple and areola └C50.02Malignant neoplasm of nipple and areola, male └C50.022Malignant neoplasm of nipple and areola, left male breast

└C50.022Malignant neoplasm of nipple and areola, left male breast