Treatment of Craniopharyngioma
1. Surgery - is based on the size and location of the tumor as well as its growth into nearby tissues:

Transphenoidal surgery - The surgeon accesses the tumor by creating a corridor through the sphenoid sinus, which is part of the base of skull located at the rear of the nasal passages.

Craniotomy - The surgeon removes the tumor through an opening made in the skull.

Cyst drainage - The surgeon may place a catheter (a permanent or temporary tube) into the cyst by removing part of the bone from the skull (called an open craniotomy) or by drilling a hole in the bone and using image guidance. Sometimes a permanent catheter is placed to repeatedly drain the fluid. It will be connected to a reservoir that will lie under the scalp.

Limited surgery - Any surgery procedure which is done to alleviate symptoms or obtain a diagnosis rather than to fully remove the tumor. Limited surgery is usually followed by radiation therapy.

2. Radiation therapy - uses high-energy X-rays or protons to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. Radiation therapy is used to kill any tumor remaining after surgery.

External radiation uses machines outside the body to deliver the X-ray dose.

Internal radiation uses liquid sources placed into the parts of the tumor that are cysts.

3. Proton therapy - Proton therapy delivers high radiation doses directly to tumors. This treatment may reduce the side effects of traditional X-ray therapy. When surgeons are unable to remove all of the tumor, a child may receive limited surgery and proton therapy.

4. Chemotherapy - uses powerful anticancer medicines to kill or stop the growth of the noncancerous craniopharyngioma cells:

Systemic - taken by mouth or injected, the medicine enters the bloodstream and moves throughout the body

Intracavitary - used to place the medicine directly into the cyst cavity