Treatment Options for Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Objectives Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) of the urinary bladder is a rare and highly aggressive form of bladder cancer, with no widely agreed-upon treatment strategy. The aim of this study was to identify important factors influencing patient prognosis and to assess how various treatment approaches affect survival outcomes. Methods A retrospective study was conducted using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, including patients with bladder primary SRCC who were presented between 2000 and 2017. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to examine the impact of various factors on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were applied to homogenize both groups. The impact of different treatment regimens on patient CSS and OS was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results A total of 33 cases of non-muscular invasive SRCC and 210 cases of muscular invasive SRCC were included in this study. Multivariate analysis identified race, TNM stage, and surgical method as independent variables influencing both OS and CSS. In non-muscle invasive bladder SRCC patients, radical cystectomy showed no CSS benefit compared to transurethral resection of bladder tumors ( P = 0.304). For muscle invasive SRCC, patients who underwent partial cystectomy had better OS and CSS compared to those who underwent radical cystectomy ( P = 0.019, P = 0.024). However, after conducting a PSM analysis, the differences between the two surgical outcomes were not statistically significant ( P = 0.504, P = 0.335). Lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation did not show any benefit to the prognosis of patients. Conclusion This study identified race, TNM stage, and surgical approach as significant independent predictors for SRCC outcomes. Simple radical cystectomy and partial cystectomy proved to be effective treatments for SRCC. The optimal treatment option still needs to be supported by a number of prospective research trials.