Does chemotherapy have a role in the management of craniopharyngioma?

Craniopharyngiomas are classified as histologically benign tumours that are usually treated by surgery alone or in combination with radiotherapy. However, the difficulty in managing recurrent tumours and the desire to try to avoid treatment-related morbidity from both surgery and irradiation has led to exploration of the role of chemotherapy in this tumour. In the majority of cases this has involved the application of intratumoral bleomycin in cystic craniopharyngiomas. This review reports the published experience of this type of local chemotherapy, including delivery, scheduling, outcomes and toxicity. In addition, the rarely reported use of systemic chemotherapy is discussed.