Signet ring cell

Signet ring cells are most frequently associated with stomach cancer,[1] but can arise from any number of tissues including the prostate,[2] bladder, gallbladder,[3] breast, colon,[4] ovarian stroma and testis.

[5] The NCI Thesaurus identifies the following types of signet ring cell The name of the cell comes from its appearance; signet ring cells resemble signet rings.

They contain a large amount of mucin, which pushes the nucleus to the cell periphery.

The pool of mucin in a signet ring cell mimics the appearance of a finger hole and the nucleus mimics the appearance of the face of the ring in profile.

A significant number of signet ring cells, generally, are associated with a worse prognosis.

Signet ring cell, as seen in a case of colon adenocarcinoma with mucinous features, showing a tumor cell with a vacuole of mucin. H&E stain.
Signet ring for comparison.