C82.00

Billable

Follicular lymphoma grade I, unspecified site

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 21 — Breast, Prostate, Colorectal and Other Cancers and Tumors

0.545

V24HCC 10 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers

0.675

ESRDHCC 10 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers

0.000

RxHCCHCC 21 — Hodgkin Lymphoma and Other Cancers

0.000

What This Code Means

A slow-growing type of lymphoma called follicular lymphoma grade I that is present but the specific location in the body is not documented.

Coding Tips

•Grade I indicates the lowest grade (most differentiated) follicular lymphoma
•If the site is documented, use a more specific code (C82.01-C82.05 or others) rather than the unspecified code

Clinical Significance

Follicular lymphoma grade I is the most indolent form of follicular lymphoma, a slow-growing non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma. Grade I indicates predominantly small cleaved cells (centrocytes) with fewer than 5 centroblasts per high-power field, carrying the best prognosis among follicular lymphoma grades. Despite its indolent nature, follicular lymphoma is generally considered incurable with standard therapy, requiring long-term monitoring and intermittent treatment over many years.

Documentation Requirements

✓Pathology report confirming follicular lymphoma with grade I classification (0-5 centroblasts per high-power field)
✓Query provider for anatomic site information to assign a more specific code than unspecified
✓Staging workup results (Ann Arbor staging)
✓Documentation of treatment approach: watch-and-wait versus active therapy
✓Flow cytometry or immunohistochemistry results confirming B-cell lineage (CD20+, CD10+, BCL-2+)

Commonly Confused Codes

C82.10 — Follicular lymphoma grade II, unspecified site: grade II has 6-15 centroblasts per high-power field; this distinction is made on pathology and affects treatment decisions C82.20 — Follicular lymphoma grade III, unspecified: grade III is more aggressive and may require different treatment; centroblast count exceeds 15 per high-power field C81.40 — Lymphocyte-rich Hodgkin lymphoma, unspecified: Hodgkin lymphoma is a completely different entity; pathology shows Reed-Sternberg cells in Hodgkin but follicular architecture in follicular lymphoma C83.10 — Mantle cell lymphoma, unspecified: another B-cell lymphoma with a different immunophenotype (cyclin D1+) and more aggressive clinical course

Code Hierarchy

└C82Follicular lymphoma └C82.0Follicular lymphoma grade I └C82.00Follicular lymphoma grade I, unspecified site

└C82.00Follicular lymphoma grade I, unspecified site