Nasopharyngeal craniopharyngioma in an unusual location.

Since 1938, nine cases of nasopharyngeal involvement by craniopharyngioma have been described in the medical literature (1–3). Six of these cases involved the sella turcica, and all but one (1) extensively involved the sphenoid sinus. We report a case of a nasopharyngeal craniopharyngioma sparing the sella turcica. The tumor is thought to have likely arisen from the pharyngeal hypophysis. Magnetic resonance and computed tomography are used to define the tumor and its unusual spread into the anterior fossa through the cribriform plate.