Efficacy and safety of anlotinib combined with the STUPP regimen in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: a multicenter, single-arm, phase II trial

Glioblastomas are highly vascularized malignant tumors. We determined the efficacy and safety of the anti-angiogenic multi-kinase inhibitor, anlotinib, for a newly diagnosed glioblastoma.This multicenter, single-arm trial (NCT04119674) enrolled 33 treatment-naïve patients with histologically proven glioblastomas between March 2019 and November 2020. Patients underwent treatment with the standard STUPP regimen [fractionated focal irradiation in daily fractions of 1.8-2 Gy given 5 d/w × 6 w (total = 54-60 Gy)] or radiotherapy plus continuous daily temozolomide (TMZ) (75 mg/m2 of body surface area/d, 7 d/w from the first to the last day of radiotherapy), followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant TMZ (150-200 mg/m2 × 5 d during each 28-d cycle) plus anlotinib (8 mg/d on d 1-14 of each 3-w cycle for 2 cycles during concomitant chemoradiotherapy, 8 maximal cycles as adjuvant therapy, followed by maintenance at 8 mg/d. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AEs).Thirty-three patients received the planned treatment. The median PFS was 10.9 months (95% CI, 9.9-18.7 months) and the 12-month PFS rate was 48.5%. The median OS was 17.4 months (95% CI, 14.5-21.1 months) and the 12-month OS rate was 81.8%. The most common AEs included hypertriglyceridemia [58% (n = 19)], hypoalbuminemia [46% (n = 15)], and hypercholesterolemia [46% (n = 15)] during concurrent chemoradiotherapy and leukopenia [73% (n = 24)], hypertriglyceridemia [67% (n = 22)], and neutropenia [52% (n = 17)] during adjuvant therapy. Five patients discontinued treatment due to AEs. HEG1 (HR, 5.6; 95% CI, 1.3-23.7; P = 0.021) and RP1L1 alterations (HR, 11.1; 95% CI, 2.2-57.2; P = 0.004) were associated with a significantly shorter PFS.Anlotinib plus the STUPP regimen has promising anti-tumor activity against glioblastoma and manageable toxicity. HEG1 and RP1L1 alterations might be novel predictive biomarkers of the response to anlotinib.