Impact of eating behaviour on craniopharyngioma-associated obesity

Craniopharyngiomas are low-grade suprasellar intracranial tumours associated with hypothalamic-pituitary axis dysfunction and obesity. This scoping review aimed to explore the potential impact of hyperphagic eating behaviour and appetitive factors on the development of craniopharyngioma-associated obesity and to identify areas for future intervention. PRISMA-ScR and JBI methodology was followed. Five databases and two trial registries were searched. All published studies of patients with childhood or adult-onset craniopharyngioma that addressed eating behaviours in conjunction with pharmaceutical/surgical interventions, neuroimaging, endocrine responses, energy expenditure, sleep and/or neuropsychology were included in this review. Evidence surrounding eating behaviours in craniopharyngioma patients was sparce with only 10 of the 50 included papers using validated eating behaviour assessments. Eating behaviour was included as a primary outcome (n=7), secondary outcome (n=12) or commented on without formal measurement (n=31). Few studies included patients with adult-onset craniopharyngioma (n=8) or compared patients with craniopharyngioma with and without obesity (n=2), and no papers were identified that attempted to modify eating behaviours as an intervention for craniopharyngioma-related obesity. Further understanding of eating behaviour in craniopharyngioma patients through longer-term research with validated measures will improve our understanding of mechanisms underlying craniopharyngioma-associated obesity and inform clinical practice by allowing treatments tailored for patient-centred care.