Xu P, Ling SS, Hu E, Yi BX. Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the female urethra: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(27): 107158 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i27.107158]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Pan Xu, MD, Director, Department of Gynecology, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 267 Danxi East Street, Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang Province, China. xupan033@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2025; 13(27): 107158 Published online Sep 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i27.107158
Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the female urethra: A case report
Pan Xu, Shan-Shan Ling, E Hu, Bi-Xia Yi
Pan Xu, Shan-Shan Ling, E Hu, Bi-Xia Yi, Department of Gynecology, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang Province, China
Pan Xu, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Pan Xu and Shan-Shan Ling.
Author contributions: Xu P and Ling SS contributed equally to this work and wrote the main manuscript; Hu E prepared the figures; Xu P and Yi BX revised the final manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Science and Technology Bureau Foundation of Jinhua, No. 2021-4-300 and No. 2020-3-062; and The Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Science and Technology Plan, No. 2025KY1752.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in relation to this case report.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Pan Xu, MD, Director, Department of Gynecology, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 267 Danxi East Street, Jinhua 321000, Zhejiang Province, China. xupan033@163.com
Received: March 21, 2025 Revised: May 21, 2025 Accepted: June 20, 2025 Published online: September 26, 2025 Processing time: 137 Days and 5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the urethra in women is an exceedingly rare malignancy. It was first reported in postmenopausal women in 1987, and only five patients have been reported to date.
CASE SUMMARY
A 61-year-old woman presented with irregular vaginal bleeding, and subsequent evaluation identified a tumor located in the distal urethra. Upon diagnosis of primary urethral carcinoma, she underwent a distal urethrectomy. Histopathological analysis demonstrated that the tumor consisted of a combination of intestinal adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma. At the 12-month postoperative follow-up, there was no evidence of disease recurrence.
CONCLUSION
This case report highlights the exceptional rarity of female urethral signet ring cell carcinoma, emphasizing the importance of early clinical detection and the necessity for precise and conservative surgical intervention.
Core Tip: Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the urethra in women is an exceedingly rare malignancy. A 61-year-old woman presented with irregular vaginal bleeding. She was found to have a tumor located in the distal urethra. Based upon a diagnosis of primary urethral carcinoma, she underwent distal urethrectomy. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of intestinal adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma. No recurrence was observed 12 months after surgery.
