What is Carcinoma in Medical Billing

Carcinoma refers to a type of cancer that begins in the epithelial tissue of the skin lining internal organs like the liver or kidneys. It may occur in various parts of the body making it one of the most common types of cancer. Carcinoma is further categorized into various types depending on the site of occurrence and its nature.

Types of Carcinoma

• Adenocarcinoma: This type of cancer develops in mucus-secreting glands in the body. The cancerous cells may spread to different parts of the body but are most prevalent in the lungs, esophagus, pancreas ducts, prostate, and intestinal gland cells lining inside of the colon and/or rectum.
• Basal cell carcinoma: It is a kind of skin cancer that occurs in the lowest part of the epidermis. The cancerous cells tend to grow slowly in the basal cell layer of the skin. But this type of cancer rarely spreads or metastasizes to parts of the body. Basal cell carcinoma is the first most common type of skin cancer.
• Ductal carcinoma in situ: It is a kind of breast cancer that occurs at the lining of the milk ducts. The cancerous cells don’t spread to the surrounding breast tissue through the duct walls. DCIS is the most common type of breast cancer.
• Invasive ductal carcinoma: It a kind of cancer developing in the duct lining. The cancerous cells tend to break through the duct’s wall and infect local breast tissue. Invasive ductal carcinoma tends to spread body parts.
• Renal cell carcinoma: It a type of cancer occurring in the tubules (lining of very small tubes in the kidney). The cancerous have the tendency to grow into a mass resulting in an obstruction. It is the most common type of kidney cancer and may occur in one or both kidneys.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: This type of skin cancer develops from squamous cells and tends to grow slowly. Cancerous cells don’t spread but they do tend to invade fatty tissue beneath the skin. Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of skin cancer and it usually occurs in the areas exposed to the sun such as lips, neck, face, etc.

Forms of Carcinoma

• Carcinoma in situ: Cancerous cells are confined to the layer of tissue, and do not spread to surrounding tissue or other body parts.
• Invasive carcinoma: Cancerous cells tend to invade to surrounding tissue.
• Metastatic carcinoma: Cancerous cells have spread to other tissues and organs (throughout the body).

Treatment for Carcinoma

• Surgery: Cancerous tissues and/or surrounding tissue may be removed surgically after examining the type of carcinoma cancer. Minimally invasive surgery is quick to heal and may reduce the risk of infection after surgery.
• Radiation therapy:  This treatment may be used in combination with chemotherapy and/or surgery. Advanced radiation therapies are designed to use target tumors, and help spare healthy tissues and surrounding organs by using image guidance.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs that are designed to destroy cancer cells. It may be used in combination with radiation therapy and/or surgery.