According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, the incidence rate of stomach diseases among Chinese people is as high as 80%, of which the incidence rate of chronic gastritis is about 30%. Professor Lv Bin, Department of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that a special type of signet ring cell carcinoma of stomach in gastric cancer deserved attention, and its incidence rate was gradually increasing among young people, especially young women. Experts remind women after the age of 30 to consciously include gastroscopy examination in their physical examination to prevent potential problems. Recently, a 30-year-old female patient came to the Gastroenterology Outpatient Department of Zhejiang Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for treatment due to "vomiting blood and black stool for 3 days". I feel like I'm tired from taking care of my child. Since giving birth, I haven't slept all night or had any rest time, and I often feel uncomfortable in my stomach... "As the patient was pouring bitter water, the doctor quickly intercepted useful information and prescribed relevant tests for her. Upon examination, it was found that the tumor markers on the patient's examination checklist were "elevated across the entire line", and upon gastroscopy examination, a huge ulcer was discovered in their stomach. Ulcer sampling and pathological examination revealed the "Lord of the Rings" - ring like cells, which are highly malignant tumor components. Subsequently, further whole-body PET/CT examination results indicated that the patient had advanced gastric signet ring cell carcinoma with multiple metastases. Experts introduce that gastric signet ring cell carcinoma is known as the "king of gastric cancer" and is a special type of gastric cancer. The cytoplasm of its cancer cells contains a large amount of mucus, which pushes the nucleus to one side, resembling a ring in appearance. Lv Bin stated that this type of cancer can occur not only in the gastrointestinal tract, but also in multiple locations such as the breast, bladder, prostate, and pancreas. The overall prognosis of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of only 18.4% to 44.1%. Lu Bin pointed out that there are three terrifying aspects of signet ring cell carcinoma. On the one hand, it has strong concealment and may not show obvious signs under gastroscopy in the early stage. Inexperienced doctors may find it difficult to identify because it may only present as point or patchy erosion, but in reality, it has already grown at multiple points. On the other hand, the progression of the disease is particularly fast, with early symptoms that are not obvious or similar to common gastrointestinal diseases, which are easily overlooked. Most patients are found in the late stage, and signet ring cell carcinoma has strong invasiveness, easy metastasis, and rapid disease progression. Thirdly, and most unfortunately, its malignancy is extremely high, and the survival period for late stage patients is generally only 6 to 12 months. Early stage signet ring cell carcinoma usually does not have characteristic symptoms, and some patients may experience non-specific symptoms such as upper abdominal bloating and belching. As the condition progresses, symptoms such as upper abdominal pain, weight loss, and fatigue may appear. Unfortunately, most people wait until they experience stomach pain, vomiting, and weight loss before seeking medical attention, often in the middle or late stages, or even after metastasis has occurred L ü Bin said. Experts point out that the detection of early signet ring cell gastric cancer mainly relies on gastroscopy screening. Under gastroscopy, signet ring cell carcinoma is more common in the gastric body, with unclear boundaries, appearing pale in color, and small and hidden lesions. Therefore, experts suggest that the examinee go to an experienced endoscopy center for examination, and through high-quality gastroscopy screening, detect early signet ring cell carcinoma as much as possible, making it possible to achieve ultra minimally invasive local mucosal dissection under gastroscopy. Lv Bin also stated that early stage gastric signet ring cell carcinoma can be treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), while in the middle and late stages, surgical resection of the stomach is required. This type of gastric cancer is insensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and once metastasis occurs, the current treatment methods are very limited. Surgical resection is usually the preferred treatment for signet ring cell carcinoma, provided that the cancer has not metastasized. For advanced signet ring cell carcinoma that has already metastasized, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or other comprehensive treatment methods are required. Due to the low sensitivity of signet ring cell carcinoma to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the therapeutic effect may be limited. For patients diagnosed with advanced gastric signet ring cell carcinoma, a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine can be used to alleviate the condition, reduce pain, and prolong life L ü Bin said. (New Society)