In simple words: This code was part of a special project to help Medicare understand and track advanced head and neck cancers.

This code was used in a Medicare-approved demonstration project to track the disease status of head and neck cancers, specifically those originating in the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx where squamous cell carcinoma is the primary cell type. It applied to cases where the cancer was already metastatic (M1) at the time of diagnosis or had become locally recurrent or progressive.

Example 1: A patient presents with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue that has already spread to the lungs (M1). The oncologist uses G9111 along with other required CPT codes to document the case for the Medicare demonstration project., A patient with a history of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx experiences a local recurrence. G9111 is used to report the disease status as part of the project., A patient with pharyngeal cancer, initially diagnosed as localized, now shows signs of progression. The oncologist uses G9111 along with other codes to record the progression.

Documentation should include details confirming the diagnosis of head and neck cancer (oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx) with squamous cell predominance, evidence of metastasis at diagnosis (M1), local recurrence, or progression. The CPT codes for the primary focus of visit, disease status, and adherence to practice guidelines should also be documented.

** This code was specific to a Medicare demonstration project in 2006 and is no longer active. It was designed to gather data on head and neck cancer cases with specific characteristics.