# Blue Book Listing 13.13: Nervous system cancer

SSA Blue Book Listing 13.13 — Nervous system cancer — is one of the medical criteria SSA uses to decide SSDI and SSI disability claims at step three of the sequential evaluation. If the objective medical evidence in your file (imaging, labs, physical exam, treating specialist notes) documents every element of the listing, and the impairment has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months, SSA finds you disabled without weighing your age, education, or past work. If you do not exactly meet 13.13, SSA can still find you disabled by medical equivalence or by a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment. The full text of the listing is on ssa.gov.

**Direct answer:** Yes — if your medical evidence meets every criterion in Blue Book Listing 13.13 (Nervous system cancer) under Part A (Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic)), the Social Security Administration will find you medically disabled at step three of the sequential evaluation, without needing to consider your age, education, or past work.

**Direct answer:** Yes — if your medical evidence meets every criterion in Blue Book Listing 13.13 (Nervous system cancer) under Part A (Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic)), the Social Security Administration will find you medically disabled at step three of the sequential evaluation, without needing to consider your age, education, or past work.

## What does Listing 13.13 require?
Listing 13.13 sits in Part A, Section 13.00 — Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic). It defines the specific medical findings SSA looks for in nervous system cancer. You must show every element in the listing, documented by an acceptable medical source, with imaging, laboratory testing, or clinical exam findings appropriate to the impairment. The full criteria are published on [ssa.gov](https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/13.00-NeoplasticDiseases-Malignant-Adult.htm#13_13).

## What if I don't exactly meet 13.13?
SSA can still approve you two other ways. First, *medical equivalence*: your combined impairments are as severe as the listing even if one criterion is missing. Second, *residual functional capacity (RFC)*: at steps four and five SSA weighs what work you can still do given your limitations, age, education, and past work. Most approvals happen at RFC, not at the listing.

## How long must the impairment last?
SSDI and SSI require the impairment to have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 continuous months, or to be expected to result in death. Short-term or temporary conditions do not qualify.

## Sources
- SSA Blue Book — Listing 13.13 — https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/13.00-NeoplasticDiseases-Malignant-Adult.htm#13_13
- SSA — Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic) (Adult Listings) — https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/13.00-NeoplasticDiseases-Malignant-Adult.htm

## Related questions
- [The SSA Blue Book (Listing of Impairments)](https://ssdidirectanswers.com/blue-book)
- [The SSDI Application Process](https://ssdidirectanswers.com/application-process)
- [SSDI Appeals & Reconsideration](https://ssdidirectanswers.com/appeals)
- [Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)](https://ssdidirectanswers.com/ssdi)
## Topics
- SSA Blue Book — https://ssdidirectanswers.com/blue-book

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