ORIGINAL ARTICLES
IMAJ | volume 25
Journal 8, August 2023
pages: 538-541
Incidental Gastric Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma: A Call for an Aggressive Approach
1 Department of Rehabilitation, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
2 Department of Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
3 Department of Gastroenterology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
4 Department of Pathology, Hadassah Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
5 Department of General Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Summary
Background:
Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is classified as an undifferentiated gastric carcinoma with poor prognosis. Early SRCCs are associated with improved prognosis.
Objectives:
To describe the outcomes of incidental SRCC.
Methods:
In this case series, 900 medical charts of patients with SRCC were screened to identify patients with incidental SRCC, defined as diagnosed in random, non-focal-lesion-targeted biopsies.
Results:
Six patients were diagnosed with incidental SRCC and underwent gastrectomy. The final pathology of five patients revealed one or more small foci of early SRCC without lymphovascular invasion. Only one patient had no evidence of malignancy. The median follow-up after surgery was 4.2 years (50 months, range 37–90 months). No deaths or recurrences were recorded during the follow-up period. These results resemble the reported survival rate for early SRCC.
Conclusions:
An aggressive surgical approach in incidental gastric SRCC patients is recommended, as they have a chance for long-term survival.