A reformed surgical treatment modality for children with giant cystic craniopharyngioma

Differential proteomic profiles of exosomes in pediatric and adult adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma cyst fluid

BACKGROUND

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (ACPs), commonly seen in pediatrics and adults often present with large cystic cavities that can compress surrounding tissues, causing severe visual and endocrine symptoms. Complete resection of cystic ACP is challenging, frequently leading to postoperative recurrence. The composition of the cystic fluid is complex, and to date, there has been limited research focusing on exosomes within ACP cyst fluid.

METHODS

We collected cyst fluid from 12 ACP patients and confirmed the presence of exosomes. Subsequently, we conducted exosomal proteomic analysis using LC-MS/MS. The patients were divided into pediatric and adult groups for the analysis of differential protein enrichment, followed by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, including GO analysis, KEGG analysis, and PPI network analysis, among other functional pathway and protein interaction analyses. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the tissue expression distribution of the differential protein APOA1.

RESULTS

In our data analysis, 64 significantly differentially expressed proteins were identified, with 37 being overexpressed in the pediatric group and 27 in the adult group. Our results revealed that exosomal proteins in the pediatric group were predominantly enriched in modules and pathways related to high-density lipoprotein particle, apolipoprotein receptor binding, and the PPAR signaling pathway. Additionally, APOA1, as the hub protein with the highest connectivity in the differential protein interaction network, may play a critical role in β-amyloid metabolism pathways in pediatric ACP.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to construct a proteomic map of ACP cyst fluid exosomes, suggesting significant differences in the tumor microenvironment's lipid metabolism between pediatrics and adults.

Ommaya Reservoir-Assisted Treatment for Giant Cystic Solid Craniopharyngioma in Children

OBJECTIVE

In children with giant cystic solid craniopharyngioma (CP), the Ommaya reservoir was implanted in the CP cavity, and the cystic fluid was continuously drained for 5 days before the tumor resection.

METHODS

An 11-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital due to vision loss for 1 year, intermittent headache, vomiting for 6 months, and frequent urination for 2 months. Besides, magnetic resonance imaging of the head showed cystic solid lesions in the sellar region, suprasellar, and bilateral frontal lobes, with a size of 96.0×82.6×76.0 mm. Before the surgical resection, an Ommaya reservoir was implanted within the tumor cavity. The drainage was continued for 5 days and was 39 to 50 mL (43.80 ± 4.67 mL). Following the tumor shrank, a craniotomy was performed.

RESULTS

Following surgical treatment, the CP was entirely removed. The child subsequently developed hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism, for which hormone replacement therapy was administered. No tumor recurrence was observed after 3 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The treatment of giant cystic solid CP in children is challenging. Preoperative implantation of the Ommaya reservoir, continuous drainage of cystic fluid, shrinkage of the tumor, and reduction of tumor tension are beneficial for tumor resection.

Extended Endoscopic Endonasal Approach for Giant Pediatric Craniopharyngiomas: Technical Note and Case Series

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Giant pediatric craniopharyngiomas are rare tumors whose clinical and surgical management is extremely challenging. A variety of open transcranial approaches has been used to resect these lesions. Although there has been an increasing acceptance of the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) for the resection of pediatric craniopharyngiomas in recent years, many surgeons continue to recommend against the use of the EEA for giant pediatric craniopharyngiomas. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of extended EEA for giant craniopharyngiomas in the pediatric population.

METHODS

All consecutive pediatric patients with giant craniopharyngiomas (diameter >4 cm) who underwent endoscopic endonasal surgery at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. Data on demographic information, preoperative assessment, imaging features, surgical results, complications, and recurrences were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 16 pediatric patients with an average age of 12 years were identified. The mean maximum diameter and volume of the tumors were 4.35 cm and 24.1 cm3, respectively. Gross total resection was achieved in 13 patients (81.3%) and subtotal resection in 3 patients (18.7%). Postoperatively, partial or complete anterior pituitary insufficiency occurred in 100% of patients, and 62.5% developed new-onset diabetes insipidus. Visual function improved in 9 patients (56.3%) and remained stable in 7 patients (43.7%). Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 2 patients and was successfully repaired through the EEA. During a mean follow-up of 44.3 months, 18.8% of patients had a >9% increase in body mass index, and 93.8% of patients successfully returned to school or work. Two patients (12.5%) suffered a recurrence. Disease control was achieved in 16 patients (100%) at final follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The extended EEA allows adequate access to this challenging tumor and enables complete resection and visual improvement with a reasonable approach-related complication rate.

Extended Endoscopic Endonasal Transplanum and Transdorsum Sellar Approach for the Resection of Retroinfundibular Craniopharyngioma With Two-Piece Dural Opening: A Technical Case Report

The surgical treatment of retroinfundibular craniopharyngiomas is challenging due to their location and the surrounding neurovascular structures. In this report, the transdorsum sellar approach with posterior clinoidectomy, the efficacy of direct cyst puncture, and the suitability of a two-piece dural opening are presented. A 56-year-old male with visual and cognitive disturbances was referred to our hospital. Preoperative CT and MRI demonstrated a mostly cystic lesion with calcifications in the suprasellar and retroinfundibular areas. The imaging findings were suspected craniopharyngioma, and an extended endoscopic endonasal transdorsum sellar approach with posterior clinoidectomy was performed for direct access to the lesion. Two pieces of the dura were opened to prevent postoperative CSF leakage. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful. The endoscopic transdorsum sellar approach gives direct access to the posterior cranial fossa. A direct puncture of the cyst without CSF drainage is helpful for large cystic lesions. A two-piece dural opening is easy to suture and can reduce the chance of postoperative CSF leakage.

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma: evolution in the management

BACKGROUND

In spite of the continuous progresses in pediatric neurosurgery, adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (AC) remains a challenging tumor due to its proximity to optic pathways, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and Willis' circle, which can result in significant endocrine, cognitive, and neurological morbidity after treatment with subsequent impact on the patient's quality of life (QoL). The relevance that QoL has today explains the changes in the management of AC observed over the time. The goal of the present article is to provide a historical background, to show the milestones in the changes of the AC treatment, and to analyze the current main options to manage such a challenging tumor.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The pertinent literature has been reviewed. Moreover, a comparison between the past and recent personal series is reported.

RESULTS

Three main eras have been identified. The first (named Cushing era) was characterized by the need to realize a harmless surgery and to define the best way to approach AC; the second (microscope era) was characterized by a tremendous technical and technological development, with remarkable results in term of safe tumor resection and control but relatively poor QoL outcomes; and the third one (current period) is characterized by an increasing integration between surgery and adjuvant treatments, with relatively minor tumor control but significant improvement of QoL (comparable overall survival). The authors' experience reflects these changes. Two groups of children were compared: 52 cases (mean follow-up: 17.5 years) belong to the historical series (group 1, 1985-2003, aggressive surgical management) and 41 (mean follow-up: 8.5 years) to the current one (Group 2, 2004-2021, integrated management). No significant differences between the two groups were detected about recurrence rate, surgical mortality, and overall survival. However, Group 2 showed significant lower rates of postoperative panhypopituitarism, obesity, and visual deterioration.

CONCLUSIONS

Radical surgery allows for a good AC control with a low rate of recurrence but high risk of permanent morbidity. Despite the greater number of recurrences and surgeries, the more conservative policy, based on a combination of treatments, seems to provide the same tumor control with a better QoL. The advances in trans-nasal and trans-ventricular endoscopy, in proton therapy and in the management of the AC cyst are the main factors that allowed such an improvement.

Comparing Surgical Approaches for Craniopharyngioma Resection Among Adults and Children: A Meta-analysis and Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Craniopharyngioma treatment often necessitates surgical resection. Conventional approaches, such as transcranial and transsphenoidal approaches, are predominantly used. However, a recently adopted supraorbital approach may be more efficacious. Thus, this meta-analysis and systematic review aimed to compare the efficacy of the transcranial, transsphenoidal, and supraorbital approaches for resection and treatment of craniopharyngiomas.

METHODS

This study was performed following PRISMA guidelines. Analyses were performed according to study design: (1) analyses for studies comparing several surgical approaches; and (2) analyses of all included studies. Random effects meta-analysis models were used to pool odds ratios among studies comparing several approaches. Similarly, categorical meta-regression models were used to examine the effect of surgical approach as a covariate of outcome data for all studies. Statistics were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (CMA 3.3, Biostat, Englewood, NJ) (significance set at P < 0.05).

RESULTS

Patients were well-matched for age, sex, and preoperative comorbidities between groups stratified by surgical approach. Analyses including 22 studies that compared several approaches demonstrated that the transsphenoidal group had a greater occurrence of postoperative visual improvement (P < 0.0001), lesser occurrence of visual deterioration (P < 0.0001), and lower tumor recurrence rate (P = 0.015) compared with the transcranial group. Only 2 studies compared the supraorbital approach to another approach, limiting analyses. Analyses including all studies demonstrated that the supraorbital group did not differ to either the transcranial or transsphenoidal group for any examined variables.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that the transsphenoidal approach is associated with improved clinical outcomes for craniopharyngioma resection. There are limited data regarding the supraorbital approach, warranting future investigation.

Molecular biological features of cyst wall of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma

The molecular biological differences between cyst walls and those in solid bodies are the foundation of the outcomes. In this study, the CTNNB1 mutations were confirmed by DNAsequencing; CTNNB1 expression levels were detected by PCR; the differences between solid bodies and cyst walls in proliferative capacity and tumor stem cell niches were assessed by immunohistochemistry; the effect of the residual cyst wall on recurrence was assessed by follow-up. Mutations in the CTNNB1 in the cyst wall and the solid body were identical in each case. No differences were found in the transcriptional level of CTNNB1 between the cyst walls and the solid bodies (P = 0.7619). The cyst wall showed a pathological structure similar to the solid body. Proliferative capacity of cyst walls was stronger than that of solid body (P = 0.0021), and β-catenin nuclear positive cells (cell clusters) in cyst walls were more than that in solid tumor (P = 0.0002). The retrospective 45 ACPs showed residual cyst wall was significantly associated with tumor recurrence or regrowth (P = 0.0176). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed there was a significant difference in the prognosis between GTR and STR (P < 0.0001).The cyst wall of ACP contained more tumor stem cell niches which could lead to the recurrence. According to the above-mentioned, a special attention to the management of the cyst wall should be paid.

Treatment of Cystic Craniopharyngiomas: An Update

In spite of the significant technical and technological progress in neurosurgery and the continuous discoveries by the basic research, adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma remains a significant clinical challenge. Actually, the huge size of the tumor, its multiple cystic components, the encasement of Willis' circle and optic pathways, and the invasion of the hypothalamus often prevent its safe surgical resection. Moreover, the local aggressiveness of the tumor accounts for a high risk of recurrence even after a gross total resection. For these reasons, more and more efforts are being dedicated to enhance the knowledge about AC and improve the tools for its treatment.This paper is dedicated to the most recent advances concerning the AC management. Promising, new insights come for the basic research, thanks to the updates on the role of the WNT-β-catenin pathway (important for the tumor genesis and progression, not yet developed enough for a safe target therapy in children but useful for determining the prognosis) and the inflammatory mediators (widely overexpressed, especially by the cyst of the tumor, and for which target therapies are being developed). Moreover, further factors and pathways are under investigation.Also the development of new treatment strategies accounts for the improvement of the prognosis and the quality of life of AC patients. The enhancement of the experience with the endoscopic techniques (both transsphenoidal and transventricular approaches) actually allows to perform a less invasive but effective surgery that can be coupled with new modalities of radiation therapy aiming at obtaining a reliable control of the disease and protecting the endocrinological, ophthalmological, and neurological functions. A special mention is finally deserved by the techniques specifically designed for the intracystic therapy (as cyst fenestration alone or in combination with administration of radionuclides or bleomycin or interferon-α) that are here analyzed together with the aforementioned advances.

Neuroendoscopic Transventricular Approach for Cystic Craniopharyngioma

The literature is rich with many studies reporting different treatment modalities and approaches for cystic craniopharyngioma (CC), including microsurgery, neuroendoscopic transventricular approach, endoscopic transnasal surgery, stereotactic drainage, and Ommaya reservoir insertion. The goals of this manuscript are to report the successful treatment of an atypical case of CC using the neuroendoscopic transventricular approach (NTVA) as well as discuss the different surgical modalities for these tumors following a comprehensive review of the literature. Our patient is a nine-year-old female with a large CC who was managed using the NTVA. No complications or recurrence occurred over two years of follow-up. Results of our literature review showed lower recurrence and complication rates of the NTVA compared to other surgical modalities.The NTVA is potentially efficient, reliable, and safe for managing CC and cystic-dominant craniopharyngiomas, with low recurrence and complication rates compared to microsurgery and Ommaya reservoir insertion. Future randomized clinical studies comparing the various treatment modalities of CC are needed to solidify these conclusions.

Prediction of CTNNB1 Mutation Status in Pediatric Cystic Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma by Using Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Manifestation

OBJECTIVE

CTNNB1-targeted inhibitor is demonstrated to be an effective neoadjuvant therapy in adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) patients and cystic degeneration is a canonical sign of pediatric ACP. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the cystic performances and CTNNB1 mutation (CTNNB1 MUT) status so as to analyze the possible diagnostic criteria of CTNNB1 MUT in pediatric cystic ACP (PCACP).

METHODS

Patient's population, clinical characteristics, tissue samples and MRI data were collected and summarized in PCACP patients. The results were compared between CTNNB1 MUT and CTNNB1 wild-type (WT) groups according to the Sanger sequencing. MRI features of the cyst were also recorded. The receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the differential diagnostic value.

RESULTS

19 of the 61 patients manifested CTNNB1 MUT PCACP and 42 patients were CTNNB1 WT PCACP. Multiple cysts, irregular shape of cyst, hypo-intense interior signal of cyst on non-contrast T1W1, compression with optic chiasm and pituitary stalk and enhancement signal of cystic wall have been demonstrated in CTNNB1 MUT PCACP patients on MRI. Only the Area under the curve (AUC) values of quantity of cyst, shape of cyst and interior signal of cyst on non-contrast T1W1 were over 0.7. For criteria based on the combination of the 6 characteristic features, the AUC value was 0.928.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative MRI may provide an effective value in predicting PCACP patients with CTNNB1 MUT and offer potential evidence for preoperative management with molecular targeted agents.

Craniopharyngioma

Craniopharyngiomas are rare malformational tumours of low histological malignancy arising along the craniopharyngeal duct. The two histological subtypes, adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) and papillary craniopharyngioma (PCP), differ in genesis and age distribution. ACPs are diagnosed with a bimodal peak of incidence (5-15 years and 45-60 years), whereas PCPs are restricted to adults mainly in the fifth and sixth decades of life. ACPs are driven by somatic mutations in CTNNB1 (encoding β-catenin) that affect β-catenin stability and are predominantly cystic in appearance. PCPs frequently harbour somatic BRAFV600E mutations and are typically solid tumours. Clinical manifestations due to increased intracranial pressure, visual impairment and endocrine deficiencies should prompt imaging investigations, preferentially MRI. Treatment comprises neurosurgery and radiotherapy; intracystic chemotherapy is used in monocystic ACP. Although long-term survival is high, quality of life and neuropsychological function are frequently impaired due to the close anatomical proximity to the optic chiasm, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Indeed, hypothalamic involvement and treatment-related hypothalamic lesions frequently result in hypothalamic obesity, physical fatigue and psychosocial deficits. Given the rarity of these tumours, efforts to optimize infrastructure and international collaboration should be research priorities.