• Wenke Liu, Yuan Fang, Bowen Cai, Jianguo Xu, Chao You, and Heng Zhang.
• Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
• Neurosurgery. 2012 Nov 1; 71 (5): 909-15.

BackgroundCraniopharyngiomas are the most common benign histological tumors to involve the hypothalamopituitary region in childhood. When the tumor location is unfavorable, a gross total or partial resection followed by radiotherapy is the main treatment option in adults. However, it presents the risk of morbidity, especially for children. Intracystic bleomycin has been used to potentially delay the use of radiotherapy or radical resection to decrease morbidity.ObjectiveTo determine the benefit and harm of intracystic bleomycin vs other treatments for cystic craniopharyngiomas in children.MethodsWe searched the electronic databases of CENTRAL, MEDLINE/PubMed, and EMBASE/Ovid with prespecified terms. In addition, we searched reference lists of relevant articles and reviews, conference proceedings, and ongoing trial databases.ResultsWe could not identify any studies in which the only difference between the treatment groups was the use of intracystic bleomycin. We did identify a randomized, controlled trial comparing intracystic bleomycin with intracystic P (n = 7 children). The trial had a high risk of bias. Survival could not be evaluated. There was no evidence of a significant difference in cyst reduction, neurological status, third nerve paralysis, fever, or total adverse effects between the treatment groups. There was a significant difference in favor of the P group for the occurrence of headache and vomiting.ConclusionBased on the currently available evidence, we are not able to give recommendations for the use of intracystic bleomycin in the treatment of cystic craniopharyngiomas in children. High-quality randomized, controlled trials are needed.

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