C72 — Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord, cranial nerves and other parts of central nervous system
Is C72 billable?
No — C72 is a non-billable header code. C72 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 14 billable codes beneath C72.
Billable codes under this header
- C72.0Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord
- C72.1Malignant neoplasm of cauda equina
- C72.9Malignant neoplasm of central nervous system, unspecified
- C72.20Malignant neoplasm of unspecified olfactory nerve
- C72.21Malignant neoplasm of right olfactory nerve
- C72.22Malignant neoplasm of left olfactory nerve
- C72.30Malignant neoplasm of unspecified optic nerve
- C72.31Malignant neoplasm of right optic nerve
- C72.32Malignant neoplasm of left optic nerve
- C72.40Malignant neoplasm of unspecified acoustic nerve
- C72.41Malignant neoplasm of right acoustic nerve
- C72.42Malignant neoplasm of left acoustic nerve
- C72.50Malignant neoplasm of unspecified cranial nerve
- C72.59Malignant neoplasm of other cranial nerves
C72 at a glance
| Code | C72 |
|---|---|
| Description | Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord, cranial nerves and other parts of central nervous system |
| Billable | No — header code |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with C72 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
What codes fall under C72? (7)
- C72.0Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord
- C72.1Malignant neoplasm of cauda equina
- C72.2Malignant neoplasm of olfactory nervenot billable
- C72.3Malignant neoplasm of optic nervenot billable
- C72.4Malignant neoplasm of acoustic nervenot billable
- C72.5Malignant neoplasm of other and unspecified cranial nervesnot billable
- C72.9Malignant neoplasm of central nervous system, unspecified
How long has C72 existed?
C72 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.
Which codes are confused with C72?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with C72 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.