Mortality in craniopharyngiomas: Data from the last two decades.

Craniopharyngiomas are rare epithelial tumours arising along the path of the craniopharyngeal duct. They are histologically benign but potentially clinically aggressive tumours due to their invasive behaviour and high recurrence rates. Patients with craniopharyngioma have a high burden of comorbidities which could affect their long-term survival. Studies published in the last 20 years and reporting on standardized mortality ratios (SMR) have demonstrated high mortality (SMRs ranging between 2.45 and 12.2), as also proposed in older reports. Cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and infections are main causes of death. Apart from older age at diagnosis, data on other predictors of mortality are not consistent requiring further elucidation.