Eflornithine + Lomustine Beneficial for Recurrent Grade 3 Astrocytoma

TUESDAY, Dec. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For patients with recurrent grade 3 astrocytoma, clinically meaningful improvements were seen for eflornithine + lomustine versus lomustine monotherapy, according to a study published online Dec. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Howard Colman, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and colleagues conducted a randomized, open-label trial of eflornithine + lomustine versus lomustine monotherapy in patients with recurrent grade 3 astrocytoma. A total of 343 patients from 74 sites in eight countries were randomly assigned to eflornithine (2.8 g/m² orally, every eight hours [two weeks on, one week off]) + lomustine (90 mg/m² orally, once every six weeks), or lomustine monotherapy (110 mg/m² once every six weeks).

The researchers found no difference in survival between the eflornithine + lomustine and lomustine monotherapy groups (mean overall survival, 23.4 versus 20.3 months; hazard ratio, 0.94). In a subset analysis of 196 patients with IDH-mutant grade 3 astrocytoma, clinically meaningful improvements were seen in median overall survival (34.9 versus 23.5 months; hazard ratio, 0.64) and median progression-free survival (15.8 versus 7.2 months; hazard ratio, 0.57) with eflornithine + lomustine versus lomustine monotherapy. For patients with central nervous system grade 4 disease, no differences were observed.

“It”s incredibly rewarding to be involved in a study like STELLAR, which demonstrated a combination treatment that has a significant benefit and offers incredible potential for patients with this specific diagnosis,” Colman said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text