Signet-ring Change in Cells of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Important and Ignored Factor

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common tumors any dentist can encounter; still the histopathology of this much commonly encountered malignancy has not evolved much. Many histopathological variants of OSCC are established entities in the literature but not many of these are reported. Signet-ring cell variant is one such extremely rare variant of OSCC of which only two cases are reported in the literature till date. The present article sheds light on the etiopathogenesis and management of this unconventional variant. Discussion:The signet-ring variant of SCC, although is rare in the oral mucosa, manifests itself at least as a focal change in many cases of SCC at other locations such as SSC of skin as well as pulmonary SSC.The morphological change seen in signet-ring cells probably reflects a degenerative phenomenon related to anaplastic progression. Although the presence of signet-ring cells in conventional OSCC is established as a distinct feature, commenting on the biological behavior and prognosis of such cases is difficult due to less number of reported cases; hence the need of more such articles. Conclusion: The unconventional variants of very common tumors need to be studied and should be given attention as these can give us the clue for the overall behavior and outcome of such entities.