Application effect of apatinib in patients with failure of standard treatment for advanced malignant tumours

Background In recent years, targeted therapy has received widespread attention. Among these therapies, anti-angiogenic targeted drugs have become one of the hotspots of research. Apatinib is a novel oral small molecule anti-angiogenic agent that has been clinically tested in a variety of solid tumours. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of apatinib in patients with advanced malignant tumours and failure of standard therapy. Methods We collected 41 patients with advanced malignant tumours in our department; all tumours were pathologically confirmed as malignant. All patients received apatinib after failure of standard therapy: 500 mg/dose, one dose/d, orally 30 min after a meal, until progressive disease or intolerable adverse reactions occurred. When there was a second- or third-degree adverse reaction associated with apatinib during treatment, apatinib treatment could be suspended or reduced to 250 mg/dose. Clinical efficacy and progression-free survival were assessed according to RECIST1.1, and adverse reactions were observed. Results Efficacy assessment was available for 31 patients with a median progression-free survival time of 2.66 months; the objective response rate and disease control rates were 16.1 and 64.5%, respectively. The disease control rates of the patients with lower Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scores (1–2 points) and with fewer metastatic sites (< 3 sites) were higher than those of the patients with higher scores (3 points) and with more metastatic sites (≥3 sites), respectively (all P < 0.05). The most common adverse reactions were hypertension, neutropenia and hand-foot syndrome. Conclusion For patients with advanced malignant tumours with failure of standard therapy, administration of apatinib can still result in good efficacy. The efficacy of apatinib is better in patients with a higher performance status and lower degree of tumour progression.