Intraventricular craniopharyngioma: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Two unusual cases of purely intraventricular craniopharyngioma are presented. Both patients complained of headache as a sign of increasing intracranial pressure, but neither other neurological deficits nor hormonal disorders were present. Magnetic resonance images showed a mass lesion located within the third ventricle. Surgery confirmed that these two tumors were completely confined within the third ventricle, and histologically they proved to be squamous papillary craniopharyngiomas. Review of the literature demonstrates that craniopharyngiomas at this location have many common features and would appear to form a distinct entity.