International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | June 2021 | Vol 9 | Issue 6 Page 1787
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Puri M et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2021 Jun;9(6):1787-1789
www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012
Case Report
Primary signet ring carcinoma of the rectum: a rare entity
Monica Puri
1
, Neha Singh
1,2
*, M. S. Bal
1
, Neelam Gupta
1
INTRODUCTION
Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a variant of
mucinous carcinoma identified microscopically by tumor
cells with peripherally pushed nuclei and abundant
intracytoplasmic mucin. SRCC most commonly arise in
the stomach but can be seen in other organs like breast,
gallbladder, pancreas, urinary bladder, and colorectum.
1
Colorectal signet ring cell carcinoma is a rare histological
type with an incidence rate between 0.1% and 2.6% of all
primary colorectal cases reported in literature.
2,3
Signet
ring cell morphology should be present in >50% tumor
cells for the diagnosis. It is a clinicopathological distinct
entity with respect to colorectal adenocarcinomas in terms
of onset at young age, high rate of distant metastasis, lower
rate of liver metastasis, increased rate of peritoneal seeding
and poor prognosis.
2
Moreover, SRCC has a high tendency
for intramucosal spread with relative sparing of the
mucosa. Hence, tumor cells are rarely identified in some
cases in regular biopsies.
4,5
Most case series report a predilection to males, with male
to female ratio of 2:1, and is usually found in the right
colon or the rectum.
6
We are reporting a case of SRCC of
rectum in a young male in which diagnosis was made by
trucut biopsy.
CASE REPORT
A 26 year old young male presented in surgery outpatient
department (OPD) of our hospital with sudden,
intermittent painless bleed per rectum following meals and
significant weight loss since one year. He had no past
history of similar illness. The family history was not
contributory to his symptoms. General physical
examination his pulse rate was 104/minute and blood
pressure was 108/72 mm Hg. Patient was pale with
cachexic look. Rectal examination revealed an indurated,
fixed palpable growth obstructing the rectal lumen.
Investigations
Ultrasonography (USG) of abdomen showed a normal
study. Thoracoabdominal contrast enhanced computed
tomography (CECT) scan revealed few calcific
granulomas in the upper and lower lobe of right lung and
segment VII of liver. There was no evidence of focal mass
lesion in the liver. Plain magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) of pelvis in axial and coronal planes with correlative
1
Department of Pathology, MMMC&H, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India
2
Department of Pathology, MMIMSR, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India
Received: 22 March 2021
Revised: 29 April 2021
Accepted: 01 May 2021
*Correspondence:
Dr. Neha Singh,
E-mail: drnehasingh25@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Signet ring cell carcinoma constitute an uncommon histological type of rectal cancer with less than 1% of all rectal
neoplasms. It usually behaves aggressively and has an inferior prognosis. Herein, we present a rare case in young male
diagnosed by trucut biopsy.
Keywords: Signet ring cell carcinoma, Rectum, Rare
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20212254