Stupp protocol for glioblastoma

The Stupp protocol has become standard of care for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) since its publication in 2005 and has lead to significant survival improvements ¹. It consists of radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy with temozolomide, an alkylating agent.

According to the original study the Stupp protocol comprises: 

• radiotherapy
  • total 60 Gy
  • 2 Gy per daily fraction (Monday to Friday) over 6 weeks
• temozolomide
  • ​during radiotherapy: 75 mg per square meter of body-surface area per day, 7 days per week
  • post-radiotherapy (adjuvant): six cycles consisting of 150-200 mg per square meter for 5 days during each 28-day cycle

This therapy resulted in a significant survival improvement at 2 years: 

• 26.5% 2-year-survival with Stupp protocol
• 10.4% 2-year-survival with radiotherapy alone

History and etymology

The Stupp protocol is named after Roger Stupp the first author of the 2005 paper, who is a Swiss oncologist from the University of Zürich ¹.