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. 2017 Aug 7:10:3965-3969.
doi: 10.2147/OTT.S132756. eCollection 2017.

Efficacy and safety of apatinib treatment for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Jianqiang Li  1 , Lifen Wang  2
Affiliations

Efficacy and safety of apatinib treatment for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Jianqiang Li et al. Onco Targets Ther. .

Abstract

Objective: No standard chemotherapy is available for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who have failed prior first-line chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib, an oral VEGFR-2 inhibitor, as salvage treatment for advanced ESCC.

Patients and methods: After apatinib dosing, the efficacy and toxicity were evaluated in 62 patients with pretreated advanced ESCC from 2014 to 2016 at Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. In addition, survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: Among the 62 patients, 15 achieved partial response while 31 had stable disease with a response rate of 24.2% and a disease control rate of 74.2%. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 115 and 209 days, respectively. Grade 3/4 toxicities (59.7%) were acceptable. Patients with grade 3/4 toxicities showed a longer PFS than those without (136 vs 63 days, P=0.044).

Conclusion: Apatinib is efficacious as second- or further-line treatment for advanced ESCC.

Keywords: apatinib; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; toxicity; vascular endothelial growth factor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan–Meier curve of PFS after apatinib dosing. Abbreviation: PFS, progression-free survival.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier curve of OS after apatinib dosing. Abbreviation: OS, overall survival.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of PFS between patients with and without grade 3/4 toxicities. Abbreviation: PFS, progression-free survival.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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