1/38. craniopharyngioma of the pineal region.Craniopharyngiomas generally develop either in the suprasellar region or in both suprasellar and intrasellar regions. We report on a nontypical location of the craniopharyngioma in the pineal region. An 8-year-old boy was admitted to the department of pediatric neurosurgery in a grave condition. An MRI scan of the brain was performed after the neurological examination and revealed a large neoplasm situated in the posterior part of the III ventricle and in the pineal region, measuring 8.5x6.5x5 cm. The size of the tumor and its location meant it was occluding three ventricles, with subsequent hydrocephaly. Total removal of the tumor was carried out. Microscopic investigation of the tissue removed showed the typical structure characteristic for craniopharyngioma of the adamantinomatous type. Results of a consultation 6 months after the operation revealed that the patient was feeling well, attending school regularly and had finished the first semester with excellent results. On control MRI scan no tumor was found.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/38. The bifrontal olfactory nerve-sparing approach to lesions of the suprasellar region in children.Suprasellar masses in children include lesions such as craniopharyngiomas and germ cell neoplasms. The difficult location of these lesions and their proximity to important neural and vascular structures pose challenges to resection. We operated on 14 patients using a bifrontal craniotomy with removal of both orbital rims to provide access to suprasellar masses, even those with significant extension into the third ventricle. A complete resection was possible in 8/14 patients and 8/10 craniopharyngiomas. In 13 patients, the optic nerves were identified and preserved, and vision was stable or improved postoperatively. Postoperatively, 1 patient with hydrocephalus developed a CSF leak which was successfully treated with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. No patient had a cosmetic defect related to orbital rim removal. The bifrontal approach used here enhanced the exposure of the suprasellar region and minimized manipulation of the optic apparatus and the carotid arteries. It may be used alone, or in conjunction with other approaches, to resect lesions in the suprasellar region.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/38. Melanotic craniopharyngioma: a report of two cases.We report a 74-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman with similar histories of headache and visual disturbance who were found to have adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas which contained melanin pigment. This finding was confirmed by the Masson Fontana method and ultrastructural studies. These are only the second and third cases reported describing melanin pigment within a craniopharyngioma. The finding of melanin in craniopharyngiomas attests to their similarities with odontogenic tumors of the jaw, which can also contain melanin pigment and also supports the hypothesis that the histogenesis of these neoplasms derives from the vestiges of Rathke's pouch epithelium.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/38. Stereotactic radiosurgery. IX. craniopharyngioma: durable complete imaging responses and indications for treatment.The previous literature on radiosurgical treatment for craniopharyngioma is sparse, because the involvement of the radiosensitive optic chiasm within the target volume (in most cases) precludes safe high single dosage. The relocatable frame, introduced at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1989, utilizes the dosimetric advantages of stereotactic isodosimetry to treat with the safer fractionated therapy; this may well be the most advantageous methodology for larger and critically situated tumours around the chiasm. We believe that radical high dose radiosurgery (either single dose or fractioned) has a role in the treatment of selected craniopharyngiomas and our first six patients treated are presented here. There were two patients with discrete, small, solid lesions and both achieved complete responses that maintain at 1-2 years. The other four patients are more difficult to assess: one patient was treated for disease within the clivus and there is no evidence of disease progression at 18 months; one child, who was treated by fractionated radiosurgery to a solid component of a complex partly solid, partly cystic craniopharyngioma enveloping the chiasm, suffered tumour progression and died; one patient died of a hemisphere cerebovascular accident, which we believe was unrelated to the therapy, and one patient suffered malignant change 1 year after radiosurgery (a time point that we consider too early to ascribe to the radiation from this therapy). We discuss the indications for this technology in the multi-disciplinary therapy of this complex disease. It seems clear that, for low lying lesions, well below the optic apparatus, radiosurgery has an important role (possibly a primary radical radiotherapeutic role for small bulk solid masses). Where there is an inoperable solid tumour enveloping the chiasm the dosimetric advantages of the x-knife (10% internal dose gradient versus the 100% internal dose gradient of the gamma knife) plus the fractionation facility using the relocatable frame, argue for the x-knife (linear accelerator) as being the optimal radiosurgery system. These arguments also apply to acoustic neuroma therapy and preservation of hearing, the other clinical situation where a radiosensitive special sensory nerve lies within the target volume.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.051458766961227keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/38. Fatal toxic effect of bleomycin on brain tissue after intracystic chemotherapy for a craniopharyngioma: case report.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Craniopharyngiomas are benign neoplasms of epithelial origin that arise from the remnants of Rathke's pouch and are located in the sellar, parasellar, and third ventricular regions. Despite major advances in microsurgical techniques, total removal of these tumors is associated with a high risk of death, long-term endocrinological dependence, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral disorders. For patients with monocystic craniopharyngiomas, encouraging postoperative survival rates and high rates of cyst regression after intracavitary administration of bleomycin have been reported. Moreover, only a few side effects have been reported for this treatment method. We report a patient with a cystic craniopharyngioma who was treated using intracavitary bleomycin administration and died as a result of the direct toxic effects of bleomycin on deep brain structures and the brainstem. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION: A 47-year-old woman with a cystic craniopharyngioma underwent stereotactic insertion of a catheter attached to a subcutaneous reservoir. Five months after the procedure, positive-contrast computed tomographic cystography was performed to confirm the absence of fluid leakage. Daily intracavitary injections of bleomycin were administered through the reservoir into the cyst, until a total dose of 56 mg had been administered in 8 days. After the treatment, the cystic cavity regressed but the patient exhibited neurological deterioration; magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed diffuse edema in the diencephalon and brainstem. The patient died 45 days after completion of the treatment. CONCLUSION: Intracavitary administration of bleomycin is not a treatment protocol without risks or side effects, even if there is no fluid leakage into the cerebrospinal fluid. Although this is known to be an effective treatment for cystic craniopharyngiomas, previous reports cannot be used to establish a standard treatment method, and more research is needed to yield a safer effective protocol.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/38. Sinonasal teratocarcinosarcoma ("mixed olfactory neuroblastoma-craniopharyngioma") presenting with syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone.Sinonasal teratocarcinosarcoma (SNTC) is a rare, aggressive, histologically heterogeneous neoplasm of the paranasal sinuses and nasopharnyx of adults that is composed of variably benign or malignant neuroepithelial, epithelial, and mesenchymal elements. Occasional cases show intracranial extension and may be operated on by neurosurgeons and encountered by neuropathologists who may not be familiar with the entity. STNCs have not previously been associated with functional hypersecretory status. We report a 59-year-old male who presented with headache and syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and was subsequently found to have a bulky tumor of the frontal and ethmoid sinuses with focal dural invasion. The tumor was predominantly composed of olfactory neuroblastoma areas (90% of tumor) admixed with unusually well-developed craniopharyngioma-like mature squamous epithelium and ghost cells ( 10% of tumor). Scattered neuroblastoma tumor cells showed strong immunoreactivity with antibodies to arginine vasopressin, supporting ectopic hormone secretion by the tumor. While the coexistence of neuroectodermal and oral ectodermal-like differentiation in SNTCs is characteristic, in our case it was developed to an extreme functional and morphologic degree and was unassociated with other mesenchymal or epithelial elements often found in these complex tumors. SNTCs with limited differentiation have prompted controversy in classification.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.0257293834806keywords = neoplasm, complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/38. Extensive ossification in a craniopharyngioma.A rare extensive ossification occurred in a suprasellar craniopharyngioma of a man who died at 21 years of age. The tumor produced headache, retarded physical and mental development, visual disturbances, and increased intracranial pressure. The neoplasm recurred after surgical and roentgenological treatments. Differentiation of multipotential mesenchymal cells or mesenchymal type cells within the tumor has been suggested as the mode of occurrence of bone in this craniopharyngioma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/38. Atypical magnetic resonance imaging findings of craniopharyngioma.Three cases of craniopharyngiomas with atypical MRI findings are reported. The first patient had a nasopharyngeal craniopharyngioma. Its unusual location made diagnosis difficult. The second patient had a massive craniopharyngioma with extensive cystic expansion, involving the anterior, middle and posterior cranial fossae, and extending into the foramen magnum. The tumour of the third patient involved the suprasellar region with a large extension into the third ventricle, and demonstrated a predominantly high signal intensity on all T1-weighted, proton-weighted and T2-weighted images. These patients further stressed the complexity of MRI findings in craniopharyngiomas.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.025729383480613keywords = complex (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/38. Suprasellar squamous papillary craniopharyngioma: a case report.BACKGROUND: Craniopharyngiomas are benign neoplasms that are usually suprasellar in origin. They are considered a type of pituitary tumor that can cause hyposecretion of anterior pituitary hormones or hypopituitarism. Clinically, they may cause visual and endocrine deficiencies similar to pituitary adenoma. Histopathologically, they are distinct from pituitary adenoma and are generally classified as either adamantinomatous or squamous papillary. Adamantinomatous tumors are more common in children, whereas the squamous papillary type is found almost exclusively in adults. CASE REPORT: A 45-year-old white man came to our clinic with a history of decreased vision in his left eye for the previous five months that fluctuated. magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a suprasellar multilobular mass, which was distinguishable from the pituitary gland. The patient underwent a right frontotemporal craniotomy for resection of the tumor. Histopathological analysis showed a benign squamous epithelial-lined mass consistent with squamous papillary craniopharyngioma. CONCLUSION: Craniopharyngiomas are generally considered to be adamantinomatous or squamous papillary in origin. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging has been used to distinguish between these two types of tumors, although clinically no significant difference has been found with respect to resectability. Clinical presentation, treatment options, recurrence, and differential diagnosis of craniopharyngiomas are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/38. Malignant glioma as a secondary malignant neoplasm after radiation therapy for craniopharyngioma: report of a case and review of reported cases.BACKGROUND: The development of a secondary neoplasm in childhood cancer survivors attains growing importance due to the reported excellent survival and therefore the long exposure to potentially carcinogenic effects of treatment. CASE REPORT: We report a 14-year-old girl in whom a large craniopharyngioma (CP) was diagnosed. After surgery, radiation therapy (RT) was given for residual tumour. Discrete progression necessitated further surgery, resulting in permanent tumour control. Soon after the second surgery hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction developed together with obesity. Supportive hormone therapy was initiated. growth hormone (GH) therapy was also given for 15 months. Four years after the diagnosis, a cerebropontine anaplastic astrocytoma WHO grade III was detected, with the main lesion being at the dorsal edge of the irradiated area. The girl died 1 month later from this secondary presumably radiation-induced tumour. Only recently a second child with RT for a CP was diagnosed with malignant glioma in our hospital. case reports IN THE literature: 12 other cases of malignant glioma have been reported after RT for CP. Including our present cases, the mean latency period was 10.7 years (median 9.6 years). However, the shortest latency periods were found in patients who had received GH therapy. In numerous cases, the secondary tumour was seen at the edge of the irradiated volume, and not in the region with the highest absorbed dose. CONCLUSIONS: Therapy-induced secondary gliomas after treatment of CP or other intracranial tumours are rare but dramatic late events with a very poor prognosis. Including our own 2 patients, we reviewed 14 cases of CP with occurrence of a secondary, probably radiation-induced malignant glioma. The short latency periods for patients treated with GH is remarkable. We therefore suspect that GH therapy may accelerate the development of a secondary brain tumour. We are reluctant to recommend GH therapy in conventionally irradiated CP patients. In order to seriously answer the questions about therapy-induced secondary neoplasms, a life-long follow-up is mandatory for all patients who are survivors of childhood cancer.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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