Elemene Plus Stupp Protocol Versus Stupp Protocol Alone for Newly-diagnosed Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a WHO grade 4 adult-type diffuse glioma and the most common malignant, primary brain tumor with a 5-year overall survival (OS) of only ~5% in real-world studies. The Stupp Protocol, consisting of fractionated focal irradiation in daily fractions of 2 Gy given 5 days/week for 6 weeks (a total of 60 Gy), plus concomitant daily temozolomide (TMZ, 75 mg/m2/day, 7 days/week from the first to the last day of radiotherapy) after maximal safe tumor resection, followed by six cycles of adjuvant TMZ (150-200 mg/m2/day for 5 days during each 28-day cycle), has been adopted as the standard of care for patients with newly-diagnosed GBMs (ndGBMs) since 2005.

However, there have been no other treatment modalities except for tumor treating fields (TTFields) that have brought survival benefits for ndGBM patients during the past two decades. Since TTFields therapy is super expensive (about 1 million yuan/0.15 million dollars per year) and fewer than 10% of ndGBM patients can afford it around the globe, the Stupp Protocol is still being used as the first-line and the most widely-adopted treatment option for ndGBM patients around the world.

Elemene, a Chinese anti-tumor medicine extracted from the plant Curcuma Wenyujin, has been isolated as a monomeric drug and has a broad-spectrum anti-tumor effect in various cancers, such as lung cancer, breast carcinoma, leukemia, and ovarian cancer. In recent years, its application in GBMs as revealed in the preliminary retrospective studies published in Chinese Journals and a few English Journals have shown survival benefits with acceptable toxicity. Elemene can pass through the blood-brain barrier because of its small molecular weight and lipid solubility and has synergistic anti-tumor effects with TMZ and radiotherapy for GBM patients. Several in vitro studies also have shown that Elemene could inhibit GBM cell proliferation, promote cell differentiation, and induce cancer cell apoptosis.

All these findings from the above studies have indicated the potential survival benefits of Elemene in treating ndGBMs. However, so far, no clinical trials have tested the efficacy and safety of the new treatment protocol (Elemene added to the Stupp Protocol) for ndGBMs compared with the conventional Stupp protocol.

In this study, the investigators aimed to launch a multi-center, phase II, randomized, controlled clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of Elemene plus Stupp Protocol compared with Stupp Protocol alone for ndGBM patients.

Inclusion criteria

• newly-diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype, WHO grade 4
• male or female adult patients < 70 years old
• Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score higher or equal to 60
• a minimum life expectancy of 12 weeks
• adequate bone marrow function (white blood cell ≥ 2.0 × 10^9/L, neutrophils ≥ 1.5 × 10^9/L, hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L, and platelets ≥ 100 × 10^9/L)
• adequate hepatic function (direct bilirubin and indirect bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL, and alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST] < 4 times the upper limit of normal)
• adequate renal function (creatinine < 80 umol/L)
• adequate coagulation function (international normalized ratio [INR] ≤ 1.3)
• voluntary to participate in this trial, complete all pre-specified treatment regimens, and complete required follow-up

Exclusion criteria

• unwilling to participate or accept the pre-specified treatment regimen and required follow-up schedule
• prior treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy) for glioblastoma
• pregnant or lactating patients
• allergic to Elemene and its components
• severe liver and kidney dysfunction, coagulation disorders, or decreased hematopoietic ability
• serious infection
• serious hyperlipidaemia
• medical illness or psychosocial circumstance that may compromise participant safety