Acute and late morbidity after limited resection and focal radiation therapy in craniopharyngiomas.

Aggressive surgery of craniopharyngioma can cause severe, life-long hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunctions and possibly further impair visual function; conventional radiation therapy (RT) can affect intellectual functioning and cause secondary tumours. Because of the severe morbidity associated with aggressive surgery, many authors nowadays recommend a less radical approach followed by RT. This combined approach allows achieving 70-83% 10-year local control rates which are comparable to that achieved with aggressive surgery. The main morbidity of this conservative combined approach is represented by pituitary dysfunction secondary to RT, however, sparing severe hypothalamic disturbances. The interval between treatment and onset of the disorder is much longer than in the case of aggressive surgery and this can have a beneficial impact on quality of life, especially in children. This alternative therapeutic approach has become more appealing now that modern RT techniques allow safer delivery of the RT, particularly in childhood.