Signet ring cell carcinoma

Pancreas
Exocrine tumors / carcinomas
Signet ring cell carcinoma

Topic Completed: 1 August 2012

Revised: 29 January 2019

Copyright: (c) 2002-2019, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: Signet ring cell carcinoma[TIAB] pancreas

Page views in 2018: 733

Page views in 2019 to date: 714

Table of Contents

Definition / general | Case reports | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images

Cite this page: Jain D. Signet ring cell carcinoma. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/pancreassignet.html. Accessed October 20th, 2019.

Definition / general

Extremely rare, usually aggressive, poorly differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma with malignant glandular cells having nuclei pressed to one side by intracytoplasmic mucin (IARC: 8490 / 3 Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma [Accessed 15 December 2017])
Must exclude breast or GI primary

Case reports

30 year old man (Ultrastruct Pathol 1998;22:147)

Microscopic (histologic) description

Poorly cohesive epithelial cells containing intracytoplasmic mucin that displaces nuclei towards periphery
Infiltrates as single cells; variable extracellular mucin
Resembles mammary lobular carcinoma and gastric carcinoma with targetoid pattern, signet ring cells, linear infiltration

Microscopic (histologic) images

AFIP

Strands of relatively
small tumor cells
with many signet
ring cells

Typical signet ring cells