Unusual and Rare Locations for Craniopharyngiomas: Clinical Significance and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: This study discusses rare and unusual locations of primary craniopharyngiomas.

Methods: We describe a case of a craniopharyngioma in the cerebellopontine angle. As a result of this unusual location, we performed a literature review of the ectopic occurrence of craniopharyngiomas using Pubmed, Cochrane Database, Trip, and Google Scholar to search for the terms "unusual," "uncommon," and "ectopic" in combination with "craniopharyngioma." The bibliographies of relevant articles were also searched.

Results: We found 28 reported cases of rare anatomic locations for primary craniopharyngiomas. The average age of the patients was 30.8 years. Several patients had Gardner syndrome.

Conclusions: Craniopharyngiomas are most often located in the suprasellar region. Presentation in sites outside the parasellar region is rare. Among these ectopic sites, the cerebellopontine angle appears to be the most common location.

Keywords: Cerebellopontine angle; Craniopharyngioma; Ectopic; Tumor.