A Rare Case of Recurrence of Craniopharyngioma at Ectopic Site after Surgical Resection of Primary Tumor

Ectopic recurrence of craniopharyngiomas after surgical resection of primary lesion is extremely rare. In this article, the authors describe a case of a 12-year-old girl with ectopic recurrence of craniopharyngioma in an extra-axial location in the right frontal region, after an attempt to completely resect the lesion originally located in the sellar region. The patient was investigated radiologically, hormonally, and histopathologic confirmation was sought. During surgery, it is important to take extra care in removing the primary lesion in toto. In case of cystic tumors, it is very important to aspirate cystic fluid completely, before resecting the capsule to avoid rupture or spillage. Long-term clinical and radiologic follow-up is suggested as ectopic recurrence may occur at a very late stage.

Ectopic recurrent craniopharyngioma of the frontal bone

Ectopic recurrence of craniopharyngioma is a rare phenomenon after transcranial resection of the primary tumor. The authors present a case of ectopic recurrent adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma of the frontal bone resected 16 years after initial transcranial resection of the primary tumor. The lesion was first radiographically described 12 years after surgery and was adjacent to the osteosynthesis plate that had been implanted at the craniotomy site. The recurrent craniopharyngioma was totally resected via a lateral eyebrow approach. No infiltration of the meninges or the brain was detected. Only 50 cases of ectopic recurrent craniopharyngioma have been described to date, with the present case being the first one with recurrence located at the skull bone. So far 2 mechanisms have been described: contamination with tumor cells alongside the surgical tract and spreading via CSF and the subarachnoid space. The authors reviewed the literature, provided the largest collection of cases so far, and performed basic statistical analysis regarding ectopic recurrence. Pediatric and adult patients as well as male and female ones are affected equally by this phenomenon. The mean time of ectopic recurrence after initial surgery was 7.1 years. Ectopic recurrence, although rare, should always be considered in a patient with a newly diagnosed intracranial lesion who has undergone transcranial craniopharyngioma resection before.