How long can a craniopharyngioma live without surgery?
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How long can a craniopharyngioma live without surgery?
How long can a craniopharyngioma live without surgery? How to treat craniopharyngioma thoroughly?
What is craniopharyngioma?
Craniopharyngioma is a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Tumors of the central nervous system may be cancerous or benign. A cancerous tumor is malignant, which means it usually grows quickly and can spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor is a tumor that usually grows slowly but does not spread. Craniopharyngioma is considered a benign tumor, which means it usually grows slowly and is extremely unlikely to spread.
Craniopharyngiomas are adjacent to important structures, such as bilateral internal carotid arteries, optic chiasm, bilateral optic nerves, bilateral anterior cerebral arteries, pituitary gland, pituitary stalk, hypothalamus, etc. As we all know, the hypothalamus is the intersection center of nerve and endocrine, and it is an important structure to protect human health. Once a tumor occurs, it will cause direct or indirect damage to these structures. In addition, during the operation, the damage of perforating blood vessels and the damage of hemoglobin after hemoglobin dissolution will lead to serious obstacles to the function of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.
Due to the complex condition of craniopharyngioma and the special location of the disease, surgical resection is difficult. It is called by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the only benign tumor with malignant results that cannot be cured due to anatomical factors.
The clinical manifestations of craniopharyngioma are mainly signs of increased intracranial pressure, bilateral vision loss, visual field defects, endocrine dysfunction, and hypothalamic symptoms. Surgical treatment is the first choice. The earlier the treatment, the higher the total resection rate and the fewer complications. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment is the key.
How long can a patient with craniopharyngioma live without surgery?
The prognosis of craniopharyngioma largely depends on the size and location of the tumor. The adult progression-free survival rate is about 71.8% at 5 years and 63.6% at 7 years. Direct surgical resection is a relatively thorough way to treat craniopharyngiomas. The goal of surgical treatment is to actively pursue total resection. At the same time, it is necessary to protect the function of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, but it is often difficult to achieve both. If there is residual tumor after surgery, gamma knife or conformal radiotherapy may be a reasonable choice.
Unfortunately, craniopharyngioma does tend to recur in about one-third of patients. The use of neurosurgery or radiosurgery to completely remove the tumor, and then radiotherapy can reduce the possibility of these tumors recurring, but it is recommended to use MRI scans for long-term regular follow-up.
(source:internet, reference only)
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