Objective: Signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a rare histopathological subtype of colorectal cancer (CRC) constituting approximately 1% of CRC cases. This study analyzed the incidence and survival rates of colorectal SRCC.
Methods: We analyzed the incidence and survival rates of colorectal SRCCs based on patients' data of the Korea Central Cancer Registry.
Results: The age-standardized incidence rates of colon and rectum SRCC in 2017 were 0.17 and 0.07 individuals per 100,000, respectively. Between 1993 and 2017, the 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year relative survival rates of patients with colon SRCC were 65.6%, 49.0%, 38.9%, 34.9%, and 33.0%, respectively, while those of patients with rectum SRCC were 69.6%, 47.8%, 38.5%, 32.8%, and 29.4%, respectively. According to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results summary stages, the 5-year relative survival rates of colon SRCC between 1993 and 2017 were 70.4% for the localized stage, 41.0% for the regional stage, and 7.0% for the distant stage, while those for rectum SRCC were 60.7%, 34.4, and 3.3%, respectively.
Conclusions: Although the incidence of colorectal SRCC is extremely low in South Korea, it has been increasing in recent decades. As the prognosis of colorectal SRCC is extremely poor; clinicians should be aware of the differential diagnosis of SRCC in colorectal cancer cases.
Keywords: colon; incidence; rectum; signet-ring cell carcinoma; survival.