Clinical value of apatinib as a salvage treatment in patients with chemo-refractory advanced cervical cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Apatinib is effective and safe for several advanced or metastatic cancers, but its therapeutic value in cervical cancer is still unknown. The aim of the study was to assess the therapeutic value of apatinib in patients with chemo-refractory advanced cervical cancer. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with advanced cervical cancer treated with apatinib between April 2015 and December 2018 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China. Patients had to have failed at least 2 lines of chemotherapy prior to receiving apatinib. The clinical tumor response was evaluated after 4 weeks of apatinib treatment, and then every 8 weeks (two cycles). Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse events were evaluated. Results: Twenty-five patients were included in this study. The median PFS was 5.8 months (95% CI, 4.65–6.95), and the median OS was 12.2 months (95% CI, 8.99–15.41). ORR was 48% and DCR was 96%. Complete response was not observed. The most common adverse events in this study (all grades) were hand-foot syndrome (48%), hypertension (20%), and mouth mucositis (20%). Conclusion: Apatinib monotherapy showed good therapeutic value with tolerable adverse events for patients with chemo-refractory advanced cervical cancer.