Newly Diagnosed Childhood Craniopharyngioma
Recurrent Childhood Craniopharyngioma

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for this treatment section. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Treatment of newly diagnosed childhood craniopharyngioma may include the following:

• Surgery.
• Limited surgery followed by external-beam radiation therapy.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery.
• Intracavitary radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with childhood craniopharyngioma ¹. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site ².

Craniopharyngioma may recur (come back) no matter how it was treated the first time. Treatment options for recurrent childhood craniopharyngioma are based mainly on what type of treatment was given before and the needs of the individual child. Treatment options may include:

• Repeat surgery.
• External-beam radiation therapy.
• Intracavitary radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.
• Intracavitary chemotherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with childhood craniopharyngioma ¹. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site ².

Glossary Terms

Treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells.

A type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people. These studies test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease. Also called clinical study.

A benign brain tumor that may be considered malignant because it can damage the hypothalamus, the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

The process of identifying a disease, such as cancer, from its signs and symptoms.

A type of radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer from outside of the body. Also called external radiation therapy.

Within a cavity or space, such as the abdomen, pelvis, or chest.

A type of internal radiation therapy in which radioactive material sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters is placed directly into a body cavity such as the chest cavity or the vagina.

To come back or to return.

Cancer that has recurred (come back), usually after a period of time during which the cancer could not be detected. The cancer may come back to the same place as the original (primary) tumor or to another place in the body. Also called recurrence.

A type of external radiation therapy that uses special equipment to position the patient and precisely give a single large dose of radiation to a tumor. It is used to treat brain tumors and other brain disorders that cannot be treated by regular surgery. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Also called radiation surgery, radiosurgery, and stereotaxic radiosurgery.

A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out whether disease is present. An operation.