AccScience Publishing / ARNM / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/arnm.3041
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Use of moderate hypofractionated radiotherapy in craniopharyngioma

Can Azak1* ,  Hasan Çamlıcalı1 ,  Ebru Karakaya1 ,  Koray Öztürk2 ,  Ebru Atasever Akkaş1 ,  Fatma Alioğlu1 ,  Muzaffer Bedri Altundağ1 ,  Yıldız Güney3
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1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Health Science University, Ankara, Türkiye
2 Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
3 Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Ankara Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
ARNM 2024, 2(2), 3041 https://doi.org/10.36922/arnm.3041
Submitted: 28 February 2024 | Accepted: 27 May 2024 | Published: 13 June 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

External beam radiation therapy is used for inoperable, residual, or recurrent disease after surgery for craniopharyngioma. At present, conventional radiotherapy, hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT), and stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) are available options. However, there are limited data on HFRT and SRT using modern radiotherapy (RT) devices. This paper presents the findings of a retrospective study conducted at a single institution based on our long-term experiences with eight craniopharyngioma patients who had underwent RT. The median time between the operation and RT was 8.5 months (ranging from 2.6 to 11 months). Six patients were treated with CyberKnife® (CK®), and two were treated with Tomotherapy® (HT®) using the helical intensity-modulated RT technique (H-IMRT). Patients treated with HT received a mean of 50 and 55 Gy RT in 25 and 30 fractions (conventional RT scheme), respectively. Out of the six patients treated with CK, three received a mean of 22 – 25 Gy in five fractions, and the other three received a mean of 40 – 42 Gy in 15 fractions. The median follow-up was 6 years (range: 2 – 9.1 years), and no progression was observed. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 85.7% and 85.7%, respectively. OS and PFS at 5 years were likewise 85.7% and 85.7%, respectively. Of the two patients (25%) who were alive with a complete response, one received 50 Gy in 25 fractions with H-IMRT, and the other received RT through CyberKnife with five fractions. Five patients (62.5%) were alive with stable residual disease and one patient had died with a complete response. HFRT may be considered as a preferable option in the treatment of craniopharyngioma, in addition to conventional or SBRT treatment options.

Keywords
Craniopharyngioma
Hypofractionated radiotherapy
Stereotactic radiation therapy
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Advances in Radiotherapy & Nuclear Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4392 Published by AccScience Publishing
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