[Signet ring carcinoma in the urinary tract. Primary tumor or metastases of an occult neoplasm?].

Between 26/2/88 and 23/6/88 we treated four patients with signet ring cell carcinoma of the urinary tract. There was no conformity in clinical development, results of laboratory investigations, histomorphology or symptoms. For the first time, DNA cytophotometry was used to examine histological preparations of urinary signet ring cell carcinoma. This method provides information about the prognosis of the malignant disease, as it reveals the DNA distribution in the tumor cells. In three cases there was a clearly pathologic so-called an-euploid DNA distribution, indicating the high malignant potency of this tumor entity.