C82.20
BillableFollicular lymphoma grade III, unspecified, unspecified site
HCC Category Mapping
V28HCC 21 — Breast, Prostate, Colorectal and Other Cancers and Tumors
0.545V24HCC 10 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers
0.675ESRDHCC 10 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers
0.000RxHCCHCC 21 — Hodgkin Lymphoma and Other Cancers
0.000What This Code Means
A type of slow-growing blood cancer (follicular lymphoma) that is grade III (more aggressive than grade II) with an unspecified location.
Coding Tips
- •Grade III follicular lymphoma is more aggressive and may require different treatment than grade II
- •Attempt to determine the specific anatomical site; use a more specific code if location is documented
Clinical Significance
Follicular lymphoma grade III unspecified at an unspecified site indicates a higher-grade follicular lymphoma where neither the subtype (IIIa vs. IIIb) nor the anatomic site is documented. Grade III follicular lymphoma is clinically more aggressive than grades I-II and is often treated with regimens similar to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The unspecified designations should prompt provider queries.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Pathology report confirming follicular lymphoma grade III (>15 centroblasts per HPF)
- ✓Query provider to specify IIIa (centrocytes present) vs. IIIb (sheets of centroblasts only)
- ✓Query for specific anatomic site of involvement
- ✓Ann Arbor staging with performance status
- ✓Treatment plan — grade III is typically treated more aggressively than grades I-II
Commonly Confused Codes
C82.10 — Grade II, unspecified site; grade II has 6-15 centroblasts vs. grade III >15C82.30 — Grade IIIa, unspecified site; use when pathology specifies centrocytes are present among centroblastsC82.40 — Grade IIIb, unspecified site; use when pathology shows sheets of centroblasts without centrocytesC83.30 — Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, unspecified; grade IIIb can be difficult to distinguish from DLBCL
Code Hierarchy
└C82Follicular lymphoma└C82.2Follicular lymphoma grade III, unspecified└C82.20Follicular lymphoma grade III, unspecified, unspecified site
└C82.20Follicular lymphoma grade III, unspecified, unspecified site