Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Origin Detected Incidentally by Lymph Node Purification for Thyroid Carcinoma

Abstract

A 63-year-old woman underwent thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid adenocarcinoma and cervical lymph node resection. Pathological analyses revealed the presence of signet cell carcinoma in a resected lymph node, which were apparently different from the pathological findings of thyroid carcinoma. No evidence of a primary tumor could be found elsewhere despite detailed examinations, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, CT scan, and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. Two and half years later, the patient developed multiple bone metastases and the pathological findings confirmed the presence of signet cell carcinoma. The primary origin remained undetermined. Metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma of unknown primary origin is extremely rare.

Simultaneous metastasized primary unknown signet ring cell carcinoma of the cervical lymph node and mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland as double cancers

“…Postoperative chemotherapy was not administered, because there was no standard chemotherapy due to SRCC of primary unknown. A PubMed indicated three prior reports of patients with SRCC of primary unknown with metastasis to the cervical lymph node, all of whom ultimately died from distant metastases within 9-42 months [3][4][5]. In particular, the case reported by Handa et al [3] shows similarity to our present case, in which SRCC was found in lymph nodes that were dissected during surgery to remove thyroid cancer.…”

“…A PubMed indicated three prior reports of patients with SRCC of primary unknown with metastasis to the cervical lymph node, all of whom ultimately died from distant metastases within 9-42 months [3][4][5]. In particular, the case reported by Handa et al [3] shows similarity to our present case, in which SRCC was found in lymph nodes that were dissected during surgery to remove thyroid cancer. Despite reaching a cancer-free state from the surgery, as in our case, the patient died from distant metastases at 42 months after the first treatment.…”

“…Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) often originates in the stomach, along with the breast and colon, albeit more rarely [1]. SRCC of the stomach has an extremely poor among all forms of gastric cancers [2] SRCC of unknown origin with metastasis to the cervical lymph node is extremely rare, and to our knowledge there have been only three such reports to date [3][4][5]. We here report a case of the simultaneous coexistence of SRCC of unknown origin with metastasis to the cervical lymph node and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the parotid gland, and provide a review of the related literature.…”

Prostate Cancer Metastatic to the Peritoneum: A Road Less Traveled by a Common Malignancy

“…Another unique finding, in this case, was the histologic morphology of signet ring cells in the ascitic fluid. Signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a rare form of cancer that carries a poor prognosis and is most commonly found in the stomach and colon [6-7]. Other less common primary sites of SRCC are the breast, pancreas, bladder, thyroid, and the lungs [6-7].…”

“…Signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a rare form of cancer that carries a poor prognosis and is most commonly found in the stomach and colon [6-7]. Other less common primary sites of SRCC are the breast, pancreas, bladder, thyroid, and the lungs [6-7]. Primary SRCC of the prostate is even more rare, with roughly 60 cases reported in the literature [7].…”