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Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Prognosis of Adult-Onset Craniopharyngioma

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Adult Craniopharyngiomas

Abstract

Craniopharyngiomas are benign tumors arising from cells of Rathke’s pouch. Described at the end of the eighteenth century, these tumors are still challenging to physicians regarding their management, obtaining better tumoral control and minimizing morbi-mortality.

Most of our current knowledge on adult craniopharyngiomas comes from pediatric series or series that have a mix of all ages, and craniopharyngiomas are managed in the same way regardless of age. However, adults are not “tall children.”

In this chapter, after a short historical recap, our goal is to give an updated overview of the current data for adult craniopharyngiomas, focusing on the main differences between children and adults regarding epidemiology, clinical presentation, and prognosis.

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Abbreviations

AO:

Adult onset

CO:

Childhood onset

CP:

Craniopharyngioma

DI:

Diabetes insipidus

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Manet, R., Apra, C., Jouanneau, E. (2020). Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, and Prognosis of Adult-Onset Craniopharyngioma. In: Jouanneau, E., Raverot, G. (eds) Adult Craniopharyngiomas. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41176-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41176-3_3

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