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C56 ICD-10-CM Code: Malignant neoplasm of ovary

Billing Status: NO. This is a clinician non-billable / parent hierarchy grouping in the ICD-10-CM system.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term · 1 use-additional code

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for C56 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on C56 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 skin of female genital organs

Source: inherited from C51-C58

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code to identify any functional activity

Coder workflow for C56

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

Before you code C56

  1. C56 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

    ReviewC56.1, C56.2, C56.3, C56.9

    See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

  2. 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 →

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath C56?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → C56 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

    ReviewC56.1, C56.2, C56.3, C56.9

Consider C56. Then work the Use Additional Code note, and 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.
The conditions the Use Additional Code note names
Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.
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

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying C56(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with C56 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: A condition the Use Additional Code note names is documented.

Coding question: Is a second code reported with C56?

Path: Review the Use Additional Code note and the code it names.

Reason: The additional code is reported when the record documents the condition; a conditional instruction applies only when its condition is met (Guidelines I.A.13).

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.

Code Overview

Malignant neoplasm of ovary is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (C56). A more specific billable subcode must be selected for claims submission.

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

Indexed Clinical Terms (1)

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.

Verify Before Coding

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 structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name C56 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 1 Excludes1 note: 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 2 Code First instructions across 2 chapters: R18.0 — Malignant ascites, Z17 — Estrogen, and other hormones and factors receptor status.

Each of these codes carries a Code First note naming this condition — when that code is reported, THIS code is sequenced first, ahead of it.

Referenced by 5 Same-site neoplasm codes: C79.6 — Secondary malignant neoplasm of ovaryCompare C56 vs C79.6 →, D07.39 — Carcinoma in situ of other female genital organsCompare C56 vs D07.39 →, D27 — Benign neoplasm of ovaryCompare C56 vs D27 →, D39.1 — Neoplasm of uncertain behavior of ovaryCompare C56 vs D39.1 →, D49.59 — Neoplasm of unspecified behavior of other genitourinary organCompare C56 vs D49.59 →.

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

Referenced by 3 Screening & history codes: Z12.73 — Encounter for screening for malignant neoplasm of ovaryCompare C56 vs Z12.73 →, Z80.41 — Family history of malignant neoplasm of ovaryCompare C56 vs Z80.41 →, Z85.43 — Personal history of malignant neoplasm of ovaryCompare C56 vs Z85.43 →.

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

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

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

C4A.52 — Merkel cell carcinoma of skin of breast (Merkel cell, skin of breast), C4A.59 — Merkel cell carcinoma of other part of trunk (Merkel cell, trunk NEC), C4A.6 — Merkel cell carcinoma of upper limb, including shoulder (Merkel cell, shoulder), C4A.7 — Merkel cell carcinoma of lower limb, including hip (Merkel cell, hip), C4A.8 — Merkel cell carcinoma of overlapping sites (Merkel cell, overlapping sites), C4A.9 — Merkel cell carcinoma, unspecified (Merkel cell), C50.91 — Malignant neoplasm of breast of unspecified site, female (lipid-rich), C50.92 — Malignant neoplasm of breast of unspecified site, male (lipid-rich, male), C53.9 — Malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri, unspecified (solid, microinvasive, unspecified site), C54.9 — Malignant neoplasm of corpus uteri, unspecified (Müllerian, mixed, unspecified site), C58 — Malignant neoplasm of placenta (chorionic, unspecified site, female), C61 — Malignant neoplasm of prostate (endometrioid, unspecified site, male), C62.0 — Malignant neoplasm of undescended testis (testis, undescended), C62.1 — Malignant neoplasm of descended testis (testis, scrotal), C62.9 — Malignant neoplasm of testis, unspecified whether descended or undescended (testis), C62.90 — Malignant neoplasm of unspecified testis, unspecified whether descended or undescended (yolk sac, unspecified site, male), C64 — Malignant neoplasm of kidney, except renal pelvis (Wilms'), C71.9 — Malignant neoplasm of brain, unspecified (neuroectodermal, primitive, unspecified site), C73 — Malignant neoplasm of thyroid gland (Hurthle cell), C74.0 — Malignant neoplasm of cortex of adrenal gland (adrenal cortical), +143 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of C56 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 C56 with these 3 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Same site

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Code First instructions

Referenced by Same-site neoplasm codes

Referenced by Screening & history codes MedCoder-derived

Index entries

  • Brenner, tumor (benign), malignant[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes

Change history

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

Common coding questions

Can C56 be billed directly?

No. C56 (Malignant neoplasm of ovary) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.

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 FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) 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 structured 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 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.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

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. "C56 — Malignant neoplasm of ovary." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/c56-malignant-neoplasm-of-ovary

Change history

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

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to C56 in its code family, with their registry titles.