[Two cases of craniopharyngioma associated with Rathke's cleft cyst]

Two rare cases of craniopharyngioma associated with Rathke's cleft cyst are reported. The patients were 74-year-old female and 12-year-old boy. The former complained bilateral impaired visual acuity and visual field disturbance with hypoprolactinemia, the latter complained diabetes insipidus and growth retardation. MR images of these cases demonstrated sellar resion tumors, which were composed with both cystic and solid component. Transsphenoidal tumor removal were performed to both cases, and their tumor tissues were studied by light and electron microscopy. The cyst wall were composed of three kinds of epithelial cells such as ciliated columnar cells, mucous cells and basal cells. The solid components were composed of stratified squamous cells. These two components shifted each other. For these facts, to consider that both Rathke's cleft cyst and craniopharyngioma originate in remnants of Rathke's pouch, it is concluded that Rathke's cleft cyst cells sometimes cause differentiation to craniopharyngioma on its growth process.