CRANIOPHARYNGIOMA - CLINICAL AND THERAPEUTIC OUTCOME DATA IN A MIXED COHORT OF ADULT AND PAEDIATRIC CASES

BACKGROUNDCraniopharyngiomas are benign but locally invasive tumours of the sellar region that arise from ectopic embryonic remnants of Rathke's pouch, affecting both children (adamantinomatous type -aCP) and adults (papillary type -pCP) and associated with significant morbidity. OBJECTIVETo study the clinical presentation of CRF as well as the posttreatment evolution of craniopharyngioma in children versus adults in a large mixed cohort. MATERIAL AND METHODSWe performed a retrospective review of CRF patients evaluated in the National Institute of Endocrinology in Bucharest between 1990 and 2016. RESULTSA total of 107 patients (72 adults, 35 children) with a mean follow-up of 6.2 years were included. The presenting symptoms were mostly headache, visual impairment, symptoms of hypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus. Some symptoms or hormonal abnormalities were significantly more prevalent in the children group (p80% of cases in both groups needed chronic replacement therapy), central diabetes insipidus (68.2% children, 34.3% of adults). CONCLUSIONSDespite similar tumor dimensions and extension compared to adults, craniopharyngioma in children is more frequently associated with signs of intracranial pressure. The results and complications of treatment are similar in adults and children.