Childhood craniopharyngioma: Vancouver experience

Objective: To present our institution's experience in the management of childhood craniopharyngioma since 1982. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all children diagnosed with craniopharyngioma at our children's hospital from its opening in 1982 through to 2003. One neuroradiologist systematically reviewed the neuroimaging. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze the progression-free survival and the overall survival from the time of the first definitive intervention. Conclusions: Most children diagnosed with craniopharyngioma are long-term survivors. Survivors suffer from multiple deficits in the long term. A conservative surgical and radiotherapeutic approach and avoiding interventions that are known to cause severe morbidity may minimize these. The use of intracystic bleomycin is a strategy that allows the delay of more aggressive therapies in select patients.