Peritoneal foreign body granulomas to keratin in uterine adenocanthoma.

Four cases of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma with squamous metaplasia (so-called adenocanthoma) of the uterus were associated with granulomatous inflammation of the pelvic peritoneum. The inflammation was the result of a foreign-body response to keratin that desquamated from the surface of the tumor and was carried to the peritoneal cavity through the lumen of the Fallopian tubes. The absence of viable neoplastic cells and favorable follow-up examinations in these patients indicate that the presence of peritoneal keratin granulomas in association with endometrial adenoacanthoma should not be regarded as an indicator of metastatic spread.