Glioblastoma Clinical Trials: Current Landscape and Opportunities for Improvement
Stephen Bagley, Shawn Kothari, Rifaquat Rahman, Eudocia Q. Lee, Gavin P. Dunn, Evanthia Galanis, Susan M. Chang, Burt Nabors, Manmeet S. Ahluwalia, Roger Stupp, Minesh P. Mehta, David A. Reardon, Stuart A. Grossman, Erik P. Sulman, John H. Sampson, Simon Khagi, Michael Weller, Timothy F. Cloughesy, Patrick Y. Wen, Mustafa Khasraw
Abstract
Therapeutic advances for glioblastoma have been minimal over the past 2 decades. In light of the multitude of recent phase III trials that have failed to meet their primary endpoints following promising preclinical and early-phase programs, a Society for Neuro-Oncology Think Tank was held in November 2020 to prioritize areas for improvement in the conduct of glioblastoma clinical trials. Here, we review the literature, identify challenges related to clinical trial eligibility criteria and trial design in glioblastoma, and provide recommendations from the Think Tank. In addition, we provide a data-driven context with which to frame this discussion by analyzing key study design features of adult glioblastoma clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov as "recruiting" or "not yet recruiting" as of February 2021.