A Rare Brain Tumor Found in an Unusual Spot at the Base of the Skull
Original title: Ectopic Craniopharyngioma of the Clivus: A Case Report.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report on one patient, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
Doctors found a rare, non-cancer tumor growing in a place it almost never grows.
What was studied. This is a report about one patient. She was a 56-year-old woman who had come-and-go headaches for 4 years and sometimes blurry vision. Doctors used scans, eye tests, and hormone tests, then operated.
What they found. Scans showed a fluid-filled lump in the bone at the base of her skull. The bone there was thin and pressed on. Surgeons removed the lump through her nose, and lab tests showed it was a craniopharyngioma. This tumor usually grows near the pituitary gland, not in this bone. Her headache got better after surgery, and some of her hormone levels dropped.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Long-lasting headaches can sometimes have an unusual cause. Doctors now know this rare tumor can grow in this spot, even when the usual warning signs are missing. That may help them find it sooner in other people. Surgery through the nose worked for this one woman.
What it doesn't mean: This is one person's story, not a study. One case cannot show how safe or how well a treatment works for others. It does not test a new drug or a new kind of surgery, and it is not a cure. Most headaches are not caused by a tumor. Nothing here changes the care your own doctor gives you.
Source: PubMed, August 22, 2026 · Read the original
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