2008 ICD-9-CM Volume 1 Diagnosis Codes Home > Neoplasms 140-239 > Malignant Neoplasm Of Lymphatic And Hematopoietic Tissue 200-208 > Leukemia Of Unspecified Cell Type 208.* > 2008 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis 208.90 Unspecified leukemia without remission  On October 1, 2008 the 2009 ICD-9-CM codes came into effect. Therefore, this code may be out of date. The 2009 version of ICD-9-CM 208.90 can be accessed here. (loo-KEE-mee-a) Cancer of blood-forming tissue. A malignant (clonal) hematologic disorder, involving hematopoietic stem cells and characterized by the presence of primitive or atypical myeloid or lymphoid cells in the bone marrow and the blood. Leukemias are classified as acute or chronic based on the degree of cellular differentiation and the predominant cell type present. Leukemia is usually associated with anemia, fever, hemorrhagic episodes and splenomegaly. Common leukemias include acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic or precursor lymphoblastic leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Treatment is vital to patient survival; untreated, the natural course of acute leukemias is normally measured in weeks or months, while that of chronic leukemias is more often measured in months or years. -- 2004 A progressive, malignant disease of the blood-forming organs, characterized by distorted proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow. It is classified according to degree of cell differentiation as acute or chronic, and according to predominant type of cell involved as myelogenous or lymphocytic. (Dorland, 28th ed) 208.90 is a specific code that can be used to specify a diagnosis View the ICD-9-CM Volume 1 208.* hierarchy ICD9Data's sister site ProcedureCodes.com launches with the 2008/09 CPT® codes - read more on the ICD9Data.com blog.