Clinical Situation, Therapy, and Follow-Up of Adult Craniopharyngioma

CONTEXT: Craniopharyngioma is a rare neoplastic entity of the central nervous system. Childhood-onset craniopharyngioma is the subject of frequent research whereas the information on adult-onset craniopharyngioma is scarce.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the level of daily impairment in adult patients suffering from craniopharyngioma.

DESIGN: Noninterventional patient registry indexed as PV4842 with the local ethics committee.

SETTING: The study is set in a hospitalized and ambulatory setting.

PATIENTS: 148 patients with adult-onset craniopharyngioma were recruited from 8 centers, 22 prospectively and 126 retrospectively. Mean follow-up was 31 months.

INTERVENTIONS: No interventions performed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Complications, symptoms, body mass index (BMI), and quality of life (QoL; EORTC QLQ C30 and BN20) were recorded preoperatively and at follow-up. The hypotheses tested were generated after data collection.

RESULTS: Complications were more frequent after transcranial than transsphenoidal approaches (31 % vs. 11%; P < 0.01). Preoperative obesity was present in 0% papillary and in 38% of all adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (P = 0.05), and diabetes insipidus was more frequent for papillary craniopharyngioma (36.8% vs. 16,7%; P < 0.05). Hormone deficits at follow-up were reduced in 16.9%, equal in 31.4%, and increased in 63.6% (P < 0.001). BMI increased from 28.7 ± 7.4 kg/m2 before surgery to 30.2 ± 7.4 kg/m2 at follow-up (P < 0.001). In QoL, a decrease of future uncertainty (62.5 vs. 36.8; P = 0.02) and visual disorders (38.9 vs. 12.0; P = 0.01) were observed in the prospective collective after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: Adult craniopharyngioma is associated with a complex sociological and psychological burden and hypothalamic dysfunction, warranting further investigation and emphasizing the need for a wider treatment approach.