Prognostic analysis of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma and mucinous carcinoma: a propensity score-matched study and competing risk analysis

Background: Limited evidence and contradictory results have been reported regarding the impact of signet ring cell carcinoma (SRC) and mucinous gastric cancer (MGC) classifications on the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). Results: Information on 6017 patients and 266 patients was extracted from the SEER database and our hospital records, respectively. We found that patients with MGC had a better survival rate than those with SRC (P=0.012), but in the early stage, MGC was a risk factor for a poor prognosis. After PSM, for both patients from the SEER database and our hospital, the prognosis of patients with SRC was poorer than that of patients with MGC (P<0.05), but patients with MGC in early-stage GC showed poorer survival. Additionally, SRC was demonstrated to be a risk factor in the multivariate competing risk regression model for cancer-specific survival. Conclusion: Patients with SRC may have a worse prognosis than those with MGC, but for early-stage GC, patients with SRC have a better prognosis than those with MGC. Method: Patients from the SEER database and from our hospital diagnosed with SRC or MGC were included in a Cox regression analysis, multivariate competing risk model and propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.