Unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of upper limb, including shoulder

Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.

This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.

A category header for its whole life, FY2016 onwards. It has never been valid for submission on its own.

Submit one of these 3 more specific codes instead:

C44.601 Unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of unspecified upper limb, including shoulder
C44.602 Unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of right upper limb, including shoulder
C44.609 Unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of left upper limb, including shoulder

What has happened to this code

Every change the publisher made, from 2007 to now. Entries marked draft are from the pre-implementation releases: ICD-10 took effect on 1 October 2015, so nothing before FY2016 was ever valid on a claim.

FY2007 Added to the draft code set draft Malignant neoplasm of skin of upper limb, including shoulder, unspecified side
FY2011 Draft description revised draft ~~Malignant neoplasm of skin of upper limb, including shoulder, unspecified side~~ Malignant neoplasm of skin of unspecified upper limb, including shoulder
FY2012 Draft description revised draft ~~Malignant neoplasm of skin of unspecified upper limb, including shoulder~~ Unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin of upper limb, including shoulder

Official coding rules

Published by CDC for FY2027. A rule attached to a category binds every code beneath it, so the rules inherited from this code's ancestors are shown with the code they come from.

Inherited from C44 Other and unspecified malignant neoplasm of skin

Excludes1 - never coded here

Kaposi's sarcoma of skin (C46.0)
malignant melanoma of skin (C43.-)
malignant neoplasm of skin of genital organs (C51-C52, C60.-, C63.2)
Merkel cell carcinoma (C4A.-)

Includes

malignant neoplasm of sebaceous glands
malignant neoplasm of sweat glands

How CDC's index refers to this code

Wording from the official alphabetic index. Much of it appears nowhere in the code description, which is why a search for the everyday phrase so often finds nothing.

Neoplasm, neoplastic > nail > finger
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > arm
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > hand
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > palm
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > elbow
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > thumb
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > wrist
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > finger
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > forearm
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > shoulder
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > limb NEC > upper
Neoplasm, neoplastic > skin NOS > antecubital space

Codes in the same group

Code	Description	Status
C44.61	Basal cell carcinoma of skin of upper limb, including shoulder	Not billable
C44.62	Squamous cell carcinoma of skin of upper limb, including shoulder	Not billable
C44.69	Other specified malignant neoplasm of skin of upper limb, including shoulder	Not billable