CRANIOFARYNGIOMA, POSTOPERATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGICAL DISORDERS

Abstract

Introduction. Craniopharyngioma is a benign, epithelial tumor arising from the remnants of epithelial tissue in an improperly formed pituitary gland, or from the remnants of the cranio-pharyngeal duct. It is a rare, slow-growing neoplasm. This article provides a brief review of the literature on the diagnosis and treatment of cranio-pharyngioma, which will be of interest to practicing physicians.

Case description.  The main section of the article is devoted to the clinical analysis of a patient with a stem-infundibular form of craniopharyngioma. The first symptoms of the disease were manifested by a subfebrile fever that lasted for several months, accompanied by visual impairment (according to the patient, he saw "through a fog"). The diagnosis of craniopharyngioma, stem-infundibular form, was made at the N.N. Burdenko Research Institute of Neurosurgery in Moscow. After the tumor was removed, the patient developed postoperative endocrinological disorders, including hypopituitarism, hypothalamic-pituitary insufficiency, diabetes insipidus, secondary hypothyroidism, secondary hypocorticism, and secondary hypogonadism, which required hormone replacement therapy.

Conclusion. The interest of the presented clinical case lies in the exceptional rarity of this neoplasm, as well as in the scarcity of clinical manifestations. A multidisciplinary approach is required in the examination of the patient, with the primary use of instrumental tomographic studies (CT, MRI) of the brain. The main treatment method is surgical removal of the tumor.