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C37 ICD-10-CM Code: Malignant neoplasm of thymus

Compare with another codeCheck this code on a claim

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term · 2 Excludes1
Risk adjustment
CMS-HCC V28: 1 category · CMS-HCC V22 category 11 · RxHCC V08 category 22

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too; the Instructions section marks which is which.

Excludes1Never report with this code
  • malignant carcinoid tumor of the thymus (C7A.091)
  • mesothelioma (C45.-)
IncludesWhat this code covers
  • malignant neoplasm of middle ear

Most relevant related codes MedCoder-derived

Read off the official notes above and this code’s own position in the tabular list. Which to report is a documentation question; Compare shows the two side by side.

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 826 — MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASMS WITH MAJOR O.R. PROCEDURES WITH MCC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 827 — MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASMS WITH MAJOR O.R. PROCEDURES WITH CC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 828 — MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASMS WITH MAJOR O.R. PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 829 — MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASMS WITH OTHER PROCEDURES WITH CC/MCC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 830 — MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASMS WITH OTHER PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 843 — OTHER MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASTIC DIAGNOSES WITH MCC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 844 — OTHER MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASTIC DIAGNOSES WITH CC (MDC 17)
  • MS-DRG 845 — OTHER MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS OR POORLY DIFFERENTIATED NEOPLASTIC DIAGNOSES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 17)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Risk Adjustment (CMS-HCC)

Payment categories this diagnosis maps to under CMS-HCC V28, payment year 2026.

  • HCC 21 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers (supersedes HCC 22, HCC 23)

Other models: CMS-HCC V22 HCC 11 · RxHCC V08 HCC 22

Risk scores depend on the enrollee's full accepted diagnosis set and segment; a category mapping alone does not determine payment.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for C37 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on C37 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Includes

Conditions the official ICD-10-CM tabular list includes under this code.

  • malignant neoplasm of middle ear

Source: inherited from C30-C39

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Coder workflow for C37

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code C37

  1. Confirm the documented site and behavior (this code’s block classifies malignant neoplasms), whether the site is primary or secondary, and whether the malignancy is current or a personal history: a previously excised malignancy with no further treatment and no evidence of disease is history, not current disease. Verify the site against the Table of Neoplasms. Neoplasm chapter guidelines (Guidelines I.C.2.a, I.C.2.d, I.C.2.m).

    See the Table of Neoplasms entries · Guide: Active cancer vs history of cancer →

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with C37. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support a condition named in C37’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewC7A.091, C45

Consider C37. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).
Anatomical site
At the most specific level the record states; a site the classification separates cannot be assumed from a procedure or a measurement.
Behavior and current-versus-history status
Malignant, in situ, benign or uncertain; primary or secondary; current disease or personal history (Guidelines I.C.2.m).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting C37(2 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with C37: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareC7A.091, C45

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: Both the condition C37 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewC7A.091, C45

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse C37 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of C37 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • C7A.091— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of malignant carcinoid tumor of the thymus moves the case to C7A.091; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: C37 vs C7A.091 →

  • C45— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of mesothelioma moves the case to C45; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: C37 vs C45 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Malignant neoplasm of thymus is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (C37).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Verify Before Coding

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2027). Can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name C37 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes, the CMS Table of Neoplasms and the CMS Table of Neoplasms (site match derived from the code title). Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 2 Excludes1 notes: C49.3 — Malignant neoplasm of connective and soft tissue of thorax, C75 — Malignant neoplasm of other endocrine glands and related structures.

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 5 Same-site neoplasm codes: C79.89 — Secondary malignant neoplasm of other specified sitesCompare C37 vs C79.89 →, D09.3 — Carcinoma in situ of thyroid and other endocrine glandsCompare C37 vs D09.3 →, D15.0 — Benign neoplasm of thymusCompare C37 vs D15.0 →, D38.4 — Neoplasm of uncertain behavior of thymusCompare C37 vs D38.4 →, D49.89 — Neoplasm of unspecified behavior of other specified sitesCompare C37 vs D49.89 →.

These codes represent related neoplasm behaviors affecting the same anatomic site.

Referenced by 3 Screening & history codes: Z85.23 — Personal history of malignant neoplasm of thymusCompare C37 vs Z85.23 →, Z85.230 — Personal history of malignant carcinoid tumor of thymusCompare C37 vs Z85.230 →, Z85.238 — Personal history of other malignant neoplasm of thymusCompare C37 vs Z85.238 →.

These codes represent screening tests and history codes that refer to this active disease condition.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: CC — Complication or Comorbidity. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, this code raises the stay's MS-DRG severity tier — except when the principal diagnosis is one of 2 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 8 MS-DRGs: DRG 826 (MDC 17), DRG 827 (MDC 17), DRG 828 (MDC 17), DRG 829 (MDC 17), DRG 830 (MDC 17), DRG 843 (MDC 17), DRG 844 (MDC 17), DRG 845 (MDC 17).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):NEO052 — Endocrine system cancers - thymus (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical process (MS-DRG)

Acts as CC — raises the severity of other admissions. CMS groups these diagnoses into one MS-DRG principal-diagnosis exclusion process — a CC/MCC on this list never raises severity when the principal diagnosis is also on it.

C7A.091 — Malignant carcinoid tumor of the thymus

Same CMS-HCC risk category (V28)

CMS maps these diagnoses to the same Hierarchical Condition Category (Lymphoma and Other Cancers) for risk-adjusted payment.

C31.2 — Malignant neoplasm of frontal sinus, C31.3 — Malignant neoplasm of sphenoid sinus, C31.8 — Malignant neoplasm of overlapping sites of accessory sinuses, C31.9 — Malignant neoplasm of accessory sinus, unspecified, C32.0 — Malignant neoplasm of glottis, C32.1 — Malignant neoplasm of supraglottis, C32.2 — Malignant neoplasm of subglottis, C32.3 — Malignant neoplasm of laryngeal cartilage, C32.8 — Malignant neoplasm of overlapping sites of larynx, C32.9 — Malignant neoplasm of larynx, unspecified, C38.1 — Malignant neoplasm of anterior mediastinum, C38.2 — Malignant neoplasm of posterior mediastinum, C38.3 — Malignant neoplasm of mediastinum, part unspecified, C38.8 — Malignant neoplasm of overlapping sites of heart, mediastinum and pleura, C39.0 — Malignant neoplasm of upper respiratory tract, part unspecified, C39.9 — Malignant neoplasm of lower respiratory tract, part unspecified, C40.00 — Malignant neoplasm of scapula and long bones of unspecified upper limb, C40.01 — Malignant neoplasm of scapula and long bones of right upper limb, C40.02 — Malignant neoplasm of scapula and long bones of left upper limb, C40.10 — Malignant neoplasm of short bones of unspecified upper limb, +442 more

Related risk categories

These categories interact through CMS's HCC hierarchy — one can suppress the other's risk-adjustment weight when both are present on a claim.

Cancer Metastatic to Lung, Liver, Brain, and Other Organs; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Except Promyelocytic, Cancer Metastatic to Bone, Other and Unspecified Metastatic Cancer; Acute Leukemia Except Myeloid, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Multiple Myeloma, and Other Cancers, Lung and Other Severe Cancers, Bladder, Colorectal, and Other Cancers, Prostate, Breast, and Other Cancers and Tumors

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Carcinoma”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

C16.9 — Malignant neoplasm of stomach, unspecified (diffuse type, unspecified site), C18.9 — Malignant neoplasm of colon, unspecified (in, adenomatous, polyposis coli), C21.2 — Malignant neoplasm of cloacogenic zone (cloacogenic, unspecified site), C22.0 — Liver cell carcinoma (liver cell), C22.1 — Intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma (bile duct, liver), C22.7 — Other specified carcinomas of liver (liver NEC), C25.4 — Malignant neoplasm of endocrine pancreas (islet cell, pancreas), C25.9 — Malignant neoplasm of pancreas, unspecified (islet cell, with exocrine, mixed, unspecified site), C30.0 — Malignant neoplasm of nasal cavity (Schneiderian, unspecified site), C34.90 — Malignant neoplasm of unspecified part of unspecified bronchus or lung (oat cell, unspecified site), C41.0 — Malignant neoplasm of bones of skull and face (odontogenic, upper jaw), C41.1 — Malignant neoplasm of mandible (odontogenic), C44.29 — Other specified malignant neoplasm of skin of ear and external auricular canal (ceruminous), C44.91 — Basal cell carcinoma of skin, unspecified (basal cell), C44.99 — Other specified malignant neoplasm of skin, unspecified (apocrine, unspecified site), C4A.0 — Merkel cell carcinoma of lip (Merkel cell, lip), C4A.1 — Merkel cell carcinoma of eyelid, including canthus (Merkel cell, canthus), C4A.2 — Merkel cell carcinoma of ear and external auricular canal (Merkel cell, external auricular canal), C4A.30 — Merkel cell carcinoma of unspecified part of face (Merkel cell, face), C4A.31 — Merkel cell carcinoma of nose (Merkel cell, nose), +34 more

Lab tests where this diagnosis supports Medicare coverage (NCD)

Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD) program lists this diagnosis as medical justification for these lab tests.

Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) Test, Iron Panel

Contextual Map

Every relationship of C37 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run C37 with these 4 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

Same site

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Same-site neoplasm codes

Referenced by Screening & history codes MedCoder-derived

Clinical classification (CCSR)

Risk adjustment (CMS-HCC)

  • HCC 21 — Lymphoma and Other Cancers [CMS-HCC]: “Lymphoma and Other Cancers — supersedes HCC 22 (Bladder, Colorectal, and Other Cancers), HCC 23 (Prostate, Breast, and Other Cancers and Tumors)”— CMS-HCC V28 · 2026

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 17 — Myeloproliferative Diseases and Disorders, Poorly Differentiated Neoplasms[MDC crossing]: “Myeloproliferative Diseases and Disorders, Poorly Differentiated Neoplasms — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 4,735 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Neoplasm sites

  • Neoplasm, neoplastic, thymus (gland) — Neoplasm, neoplastic, thymus (gland) — Malignant, Primary [Neoplasm table]: “Neoplasm, neoplastic, thymus (gland) (Malignant, Primary)”— CMS Table of Neoplasms · icd10cm-fy2027

Index entries (9)

  • Carcinoma (malignant), thymic[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, malignant[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, metaplastic[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, sclerosing[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, type A[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, type AB[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, type B1[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Thymoma, type B2[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • and 1 more

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Indexed Clinical Terms (9)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Neoplasm Table Sites (1)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Anatomical sites from the official ICD-10-CM Table of Neoplasms that map to this code, with the matching behavior column.

  • Neoplasm, neoplastic, thymus (gland) — Malignant, Primary

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Risk adjustment Official source data
2026 Mid-Year Final ICD-10 Mappings + Model Software (cms.gov/files/zip/2026-midyear-final-icd-10-mappings.zip, 2026-midyear-final-model-software.zip) — CMS-HCC V28, PY2026 mid-year final release Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder-derived relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder editorial explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 20, 2026 · All releases and sources

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "C37 — Malignant neoplasm of thymus." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/c37-malignant-neoplasm-of-thymus

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Malignant neoplasm of thymus

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.