The age that people get craniopharyngiomas is between 5 to 14 years of age.
Although even adults over the age of 50 can develop the craniopharyngioma tumors.
The recent advances in craniopharyngioma is new techniques for giving radiation therapy.
A use of 3 dimensional radiation techniques allows for high doses of radiation therapy to be delivered to the tumor with lower doses to nearby healthy brain tissue.
The history of craniopharyngiomas is that it originates from remnants of Rathke's pouch which is a small sac like structure which is present in the developing fetus and later forms part of your pituitary gland by the time you're born.
Normally the small piece of Rathke's pouch persists after birth.
A craniopharyngioma is terminal if not treated or controlled.
With treatment craniopharyngioma can be cured and not be terminal.
Craniopharyngioma can metastasize although it's rare for it to metastasize.
The treatment for craniopharyngioma is surgery with or without radiation therapy.
A partial resection is followed by radiation therapy.
Sometimes cyst drainage is done with or without surgery or radiation therapy.
Craniopharyngioma can be cured through treatments and most people who seek treatment for craniopharyngioma are cured.
Craniopharyngiomas are pretty serious even though they are not cancerous.
The reason craniopharyngiomas are serious is because of their aggressive local growth and location near delicate structures in the brain, craniopharyngiomas can cause devastating neurological symptoms.
And their propensity to attach to vital glands, brain structures, and blood vessels makes it difficult to remove entire tumors with surgery.
The symptoms of a craniopharyngioma are.
Headache.
Peripheral field vision loss.
Eye movement weakness/double vision.
Vomiting.
Personality changes, confusion.
Hormonal insufficiency/hypothalamic dysfunction.
Adrenal insufficiency.
Craniopharyngioma is a rare brain tumor which usually form near the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus.
The Craniopharyngiomas are benign (not cancer) and do not spread to other parts of the brain or to other parts of the body.
The symptoms of craniopharyngiomas are.
Headache.
Peripheral field vision loss.
Eye movement weakness/double vision.
Vomiting.
Personality changes, confusion.
Hormonal insufficiency/hypothalamic dysfunction.
Adrenal insufficiency.
Although because of their aggressive local growth and location near delicate structures in the brain, craniopharyngiomas can cause devastating neurological symptoms.
And their propensity to attach to vital glands, brain structures, and blood vessels makes it difficult to remove entire tumors with surgery.
Craniopharyngiomas are most commonly found in children between the ages of 5 and 14.
However, adults over age 50 can also develop these tumors.
Following treatment, patients diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma have 10-year survival rates of approximately 90%.
This means that 90% of patients live at least 10 years.
Apart from those deaths directly attributed to the tumor and those related to the surgical interventions, the risk of cardio-/cerebrovascular and respiratory mortality is increased.