2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code C43.9

Malignant melanoma of skin, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Code:
C43.9
ICD-10 Code for:
Malignant melanoma of skin, unspecified
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Chronic
Code Navigator:

Code Classification

  • Neoplasms
    (C00–D49)
    • Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin
      (C43-C44)
      • Malignant melanoma of skin
        (C43)

C43.9 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of malignant melanoma of skin, unspecified. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2023 through September 30, 2024.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like C43.9 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

The code is linked to some Quality Measures as part of Medicare's Quality Payment Program (QPP). When this code is used as part of a patient's medical record the following Quality Measures might apply: Melanoma Reporting.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

  • Acral lentiginous malignant melanoma of skin
  • Adverse effect from PUVA photochemotherapy
  • Amelanotic malignant melanoma of skin
  • Balloon cell malignant melanoma
  • Borderline malignant melanoma
  • Carcinomatosis
  • Clark melanoma level 1
  • Clark melanoma level 2
  • Clark melanoma level 3
  • Clark melanoma level 4
  • Clark melanoma level 5
  • Clark melanoma level finding
  • Clark melanoma level finding
  • Clark melanoma level finding
  • Clark melanoma level finding
  • Clark melanoma level finding
  • Congenital malignant melanoma
  • Desmoplastic malignant melanoma
  • Donor derived melanoma
  • Familial malignant melanoma of skin
  • Hypomelanosis surrounding malignant melanoma
  • Hypomelanosis surrounding melanocytic neoplasm
  • Lentigo maligna melanoma
  • Local recurrence of malignant melanoma of skin
  • Malignant blue nevus of skin
  • Malignant melanoma
  • Malignant melanoma
  • Malignant melanoma
  • Malignant melanoma animal-type
  • Malignant melanoma arising in congenital nevus
  • Malignant melanoma arising in intradermal nevus
  • Malignant melanoma arising in melanocytic nevus
  • Malignant melanoma metastatic to kidney
  • Malignant melanoma metastatic to pancreas
  • Malignant melanoma of mucous membrane
  • Malignant melanoma of nail apparatus
  • Malignant melanoma of skin
  • Malignant melanoma with BRAF V600E mutation
  • Malignant neoplasm of nail apparatus
  • Materno-fetal metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Melanoma and neural system tumor syndrome
  • Melanoma carcinomatosis
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma to skin
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma to skin
  • Metastatic malignant melanoma with diffuse hypermelanosis
  • Mucosal nodular melanoma
  • Neoplastic complication of procedure
  • Neurotropic malignant melanoma
  • Nodular malignant melanoma of skin
  • Primary acral lentiginous malignant melanoma of skin
  • Primary amelanotic malignant melanoma of skin
  • Primary balloon cell malignant melanoma
  • Primary desmoplastic malignant melanoma
  • Primary lentigo maligna melanoma
  • Primary malignant blue nevus of skin
  • Primary mucosal nodular melanoma
  • Primary nodular malignant melanoma of skin
  • Primary spindle cell malignant melanoma
  • Primary superficial spreading malignant melanoma of skin
  • PUVA therapy-associated malignant melanoma
  • Spindle cell malignant melanoma
  • Superficial spreading malignant melanoma of skin
  • Surgical deep margin involved by malignant melanoma
  • Surgical deep margin involved by malignant neoplasm
  • Surgical deep margin involvement by melanoma cannot be assessed
  • Surgical deep margin uninvolved by malignant melanoma
  • Surgical lateral margin involved by malignant melanoma
  • Surgical lateral margin involvement by melanoma cannot be assessed
  • Surgical lateral margin uninvolved by malignant melanoma
  • Widespread metastatic malignant neoplastic disease

Clinical Classification

Clinical Information

  • Mucosal Nodular Melanoma

    nodular melanoma that arises from a mucosal site.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.


Inclusion Terms

Inclusion Terms
These terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
  • Malignant melanoma of unspecified site of skin
  • Melanoma (malignant) NOS

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Convert C43.9 to ICD-9-CM

  • ICD-9-CM Code: 172.9 - Malig melanoma skin NOS
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.

Quality Payment Program Measures

When code C43.9 is part of the patient's diagnoses the following Quality Measures apply and affect reimbursement. The objective of Medicare's Quality Measures is to improve patient care by making it more: effective, safe, efficient, patient-centered and equitable.

Quality Measure Description Quality Domain Measure Type High Priority Submission Methods
Melanoma ReportingPathology reports for primary malignant cutaneous melanoma that include the pT category, thickness, ulceration and mitotic rate, peripheral and deep margin status and presence or absence of microsatellitosis for invasive tumors.Communication and Care CoordinationProcessYESClaims, Registry

Patient Education


Melanoma

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color, or feel of a mole. Most melanomas have a black or black-blue area. Melanoma may also appear as a new mole. It may be black, abnormal, or "ugly looking."

Thinking of "ABCDE" can help you remember what to watch for:

  • Asymmetry - the shape of one half does not match the other
  • Border - the edges are ragged, blurred or irregular
  • Color - the color is uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan
  • Diameter - there is a change in size, usually an increase
  • Evolving - the mole has changed over the past few weeks or months

Surgery is the first treatment of all stages of melanoma. Other treatments include chemotherapy and radiation, biologic, and targeted therapies. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.

NIH: National Cancer Institute


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Melanoma Summary

Learn about melanoma risk factors, symptoms, tests to diagnose, factors affecting prognosis, staging, and treatment.
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Skin Cancer (Including Melanoma)-Patient Version

Learn about melanoma risk factors, symptoms, tests to diagnose, factors affecting prognosis, staging, and treatment.
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:

  • The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
  • The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.