Characteristics of Patients with Craniopharyngioma and LongTerm Outcomes of Treatment
Hülya Hacişahinoğulları, Gamze Bilik Oyman, Duygu Dölen, Menekşe Bilge Bilgiç, Rasim Meral, Gülşah Yenidünya Yalın, Nurdan Gül, Ayşe Kubat Üzüm, Özlem Soyluk SelçukbiricikObjective: Craniopharyngioma (CP) is benign, but its treatment is challenging because of its occurrence in a critical area. Hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction (HPD) is an important complication that is related to tumour itself or to therapy. This study identified the long-term outcomes of CPs.
Material and Methods: Records of 44 patients with CPs followed up at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine were retrospectively reviewed.
Results: The mean age of 34 patients (M/F: 19/15) at diagnosis was 24±13.3 years. The most common symptoms were headache (60.3%) and visual impairment (45.5%). The tumour was localised in suprasellar region in 76.6%, in sellar-suprasellar in 16.7%, and in the sellar region in 6.7% of the patients. The mean tumour diameter was 32.7±10.4 mm (n: 19). Surgery was the first line of treatment in all patients except one, and 13 patients underwent more than one operation. Ten patients received radiotherapy. The median duration of follow-up was 6.5 years. Anterior pituitary dysfunction was observed in all patients: hypocortisolism in 88.2%, hypothyroidism in 97%, hypogonadism in 88.2%, growth hormone deficiency in 68.2%, and prolactin deficiency in 20.6% of the patients. Diabetes insipidus occurred in 97% of the patients. Recurrence developed in 2 patients (after 5-6 years). At the end of all treatments, 15 patients had residual disease.
Conclusion: The curative treatment of CP is surgery. HPD is associated with increased mortality and morbidity and decreased quality of life. It is essential to protect the hipothalamo-pituitary axis and to choose the best treatment option for each patient.