The amount of signet ring cells is significantly associated with tumour stage and survival in gastric poorly cohesive tumours

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the amount of signet ring cells (SRCs) affects clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of poorly cohesive (PC) gastric tumours. Study design One hundred seventy-three patients with PC tumours treated at three European centres from 2004 to 2014 were reclassified in three categories: (a) pure SRC cancers (SRC1) (>= 90% SRCs); (b) PC carcinoma with SRC component (SRC2) (>10%, <90% SRCs); (c) PC carcinoma not otherwise specified (SRC3) (<= 10% SRCs). Results The percentage of SRCs was inversely related to the pT stage (Spearman's rho = -0.174, P < .001) and the number of positive nodes coded as a continuous variable (P = .009). Five year cancer-related survival was significantly higher (58%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 36%-75%) in SRC1 compared with SRC2 (39%, 95% CI: 28%-50%) and SRC3 (38%, 95% CI: 22%-53%), (P = .048). In multivariable analysis, the impact of PC categories on cancer-related survival was significant when controlling for sex, age, pT, pN, and curativity (hazard ratio [HR] of sSRC2 vs SRC1 = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.01-4.29, P = .046; HR of SRC3 vs SRC1 = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.05-5.41, P = .039). Conclusion The percentage of SRCs was inversely related to tumour aggressiveness, with long-term survival significantly higher in SRC1 compared with SRC2 and SRC3 tumours.