Radiotherapy of craniopharyngioma in childhood; single institution experience.
OBJECTIVE
To present the effect of radiotherapy after subtotal excision of craniopharyngioma in childhood and the problems associated with the side-effects after radiotherapy of that rare benign tumor in children.


METHODS
The study included 8 children with craniopharyngioma, treated with subtotal excision followed by radiotherapy. The median period of observation was 4 years. Radiotherapy was delivered with Co60 telegammatherapeutic machine (Rokus), with daily radiation dose (DRD) of 1.5-1.8 Gy to a total radiation dose (TRD) of 50-56 Gy.


RESULTS
All 8 treated children achieved local tumor control (LTC) which was verified with dynamic observations by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In 50% of the cases the eye changes (vision, papillae, perimetric vision) were normalized, and in the remainder an improvement was noted. No child developed neurological or psychical disturbances and no memory or concentration problems ever appeared. From them 50% are very good students.


CONCLUSIONS
Radiotherapy is the main method for achieving a long-term LTC after subtotal excision for craniopharyngioma in childhood. The radiation dose used was well tolerated by brain structures and no late neurological sequelae were observed in our patients.
Marinova
L
L
Department of Radiotherapy, University Hospital "Queen Joanna", Sofia, Bulgaria.
Christosova
I
I