CPT 37243, 75894, 79445, S2095 - Radioembolization for Primary and Metastatic Tumors of the Liver

Code Description CPT

37243 Vascular embolization or occlusion, inclusive of all radiological supervision and interpretation, intraprocedural roadmapping, and imaging guidance necessary to complete the intervention; for tumors, organ ischemia, or infarction.

75894 Transcatheter therapy, embolization, any method, radiological supervision and interpretation

79445 Radiopharmaceutical therapy, by intra-arterial particulate administration

Code Description HCPCS

S2095 Transcatheter occlusion or embolization for tumor destruction, percutaneous, any method, using ytrrium-90 microspheres


Introduction

Embolization is procedure to block blood flow. Combined with radiation, it is a way to treat cancer in the liver in some situations. In this procedure a catheter (a long, thin, hollow tube) is inserted in an artery near the groin. It’s threaded to the tumor’s blood supply. Tiny radioactive particles are released into the artery that feeds the tumor. The particles travel into the tumor and block off — embolize — the blood supply feeding the tumor, causing it to shrink. The radiation works to kill the cancer cells. The radiation dissipates in a few weeks and the particles stay in the liver permanently. The radiation usually doesn’t affect the healthy liver tissue around the tumor very much. This policy describes when radioembolization may be considered medically necessary.

Policy Coverage Criteria

Service Medical Necessity 

Radioembolization Radioembolization may be considered medically necessary in the following situations: * Treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma that is  unresectable and limited to the liver (size of 3cm or larger, and patient with good performance status)   OR * Treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma as a bridge to  liver transplantation OR * Treatment of primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in  patients with unresectable tumors OR * Treatment of hepatic metastases from neuroendocrine tumors  (carcinoid and noncarcinoid) with diffuse and symptomatic disease when systemic therapy has failed to control symptoms. (symptoms related to excess hormone production)  OR * Treatment of unresectable hepatic metastases 

o From breast, colorectal or melanoma (ocular or cutaneous)       AND  o That are progressive and unresectable in patients with liver dominant disease
AND o That are refractory to chemotherapy or are not candidates  for chemotherapy   Service Investigational  Radioembolization Radioembolization is considered investigational for all other hepatic metastases except as noted in the Medical Necessity section above. 


Service Investigational

Documentation Requirements
Radioembolization is considered investigational for all other indications not described in the Medical Necessity section above.
The patient’s medical records submitted for review for all conditions should document that medical necessity criteria are met. The record should include office visit notes that contain the relevant history and physical supporting ANY of the following situations: * Patient with primary liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery and limited to the liver  (size of 3 cm or larger, and patient with good performance status) * Treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma before a liver transplant *
Treatment of primary   intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma that cannot be removed by surgery * Treatment of hepatic metastases from neuroendocrine tumors (carcinoid and noncarcinoid)  with diffuse and symptomatic disease when systemic therapy has failed to control symptoms (symptoms related to excess hormone production)

* Treatment of hepatic metastases that cannot be removed by surgery: o From breast, colorectal, or melanoma (ocular or cutaneous)
AND o That are progressive and unresectable in patients with liver dominant disease ND * Has failed chemotherapy or are not candidates for chemotherapy

Coding


The coding for radioembolization may depend on the medical specialty providing the therapy.



Related Information


In general, radioembolization is used for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma that is greater than 3 cm.

There is little information on the safety or efficacy of repeated radioembolization treatments or about the number of treatments that should be administered.
Radioembolization should be reserved for patients with adequate functional status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status 0-2), adequate liver function and reserve, Child-Pugh class A or B, and liver-dominant metastases.
Symptomatic disease from metastatic neuroendocrine tumors refers to symptoms related to excess hormone production.

Definition of Terms

Child-Pugh Score: This score is used to assess the prognosis of chronic liver disease, usually cirrhosis. 
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG): The ECOG performance status is used to assess the patient’s disease progression and how the disease impacts the patient’s activities of daily living (ADLs). http://www.ecog.org/  (Accessed September 2018)


Description

Radioembolization (RE), also referred to as selective internal radiotherapy, delivers small beads (microspheres) impregnated with yttrium 90 intra-arterially via the hepatic artery. The microspheres, which become permanently embedded, are delivered to tumors preferentially, because the hepatic circulation is uniquely organized, whereby tumors greater than 0.5 cm rely on the hepatic artery for blood supply while the normal liver is primarily perfused via the portal vein. Radioembolization has been proposed as a therapy for multiple types of primary and metastatic liver tumors.

Background

Treatments for Hepatic and NeuroEndocrine Tumors

The use of external-beam radiotherapy and the application of more advanced radiotherapy approaches (eg, intensity-modulated radiotherapy) may be of limited use in patients with multiple diffuse lesions due to the low tolerance of normal liver to radiation compared with thehigher doses of radiation needed to kill the tumor.

Various nonsurgical ablative techniques have been investigated that seek to cure or palliate unresectable hepatic tumors by improving locoregional control. These techniques rely on extreme temperature changes (cryosurgery or radiofrequency ablation), particle and wave physics (microwave or laser ablation), or arterial embolization therapy including chemoembolization, bland embolization, or radioembolization.

Radioembolization

Radioembolization, (radiotherapy in older literature) delivers small beads (microspheres) impregnated with yttrium 90 intra-arterially via the hepatic artery. The microspheres, which become permanently embedded, are delivered to tumors preferentially because thehepatic circulation is uniquely organized, whereby tumors greater than 0.5 cm rely on the hepatic arteryfor blood supply while normal liver is primarily perfused via the portal vein. Yttrium-90 is a pure beta-emitter with a relatively limited effective range and short half-life that helps focus the radiation and minimize its spread. Candidates for radioembolizationare initially examined by hepatic angiogram to identify and map the hepatic arterial system. At that time, a mixture of technetium 99-labeled albumin particles is delivered via the hepatic artery to simulate  microspheres. Single-photon emission computed tomography is used to detect possible shunting of the albumin particles into gastrointestinal or pulmonary vasculature.

Currently 2 commercial forms of yttrium-90 microspheres are available: a glass sphere, (TheraSphere) and a resin sphere (SIR-Spheres). Noncommercial forms are mostly used outside the United States. While the commercial products use the same radioisotope (yttrium-90) and have the same target dose (100 Gy), they differ in microsphere size profile, base material (ie, resin vs glass), and size of commercially available doses. The physical characteristics of the active and inactive ingredients affect the flow of microspheres during injection, their retention at the tumor site, spread outside the therapeutic target region, and dosimetry calculations. The  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted premarket approval of SIR-Spheres for use in combination with 5-floxuridine chemotherapy by hepatic arterial infusion to treat unresectable hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. In contrast, TheraSphere’s glass sphere was approved under a humanitarian device exemption for use as monotherapy to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. In 2007, this humanitarian device exemption was expanded to include patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have partial or branch portal vein thrombosis. For these reasons, results obtained with 1 product do not necessarily apply to other commercial (or non-commercial) products (see Regulatory Status section).