This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Apatinib shows promise in metastatic gastric cancer
Apatinib was associated with significantly improved survival in a cohort of treatment-experienced individuals with metastatic gastric cancer.
Researchers from several sites in China conducted the study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of apatinib (YN968D1, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine) — a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits the vascular endothelial growth factor2 — as a potential therapy for heavily treated individuals with metastatic gastric cancer.
Eligibility criteria included failure with two previous chemotherapy regimens.
The analysis included 141 patients; of them, 47 received apatinib 850 mg once daily, 46 received apatinib 425 mg twice daily, and 48 received placebo.
Researchers reported statistically significant survival increases in both treatment groups compared with placebo.
Median OS was 4.83 months (95% CI, 4.03-5.97) in the 850-mg apatinib group, 4.27 months (95% CI, 3.83-4.77) in the 425-mg apatinib group, and 2.5 months (95% CI, 1.87-3.7) in the placebo group.
The HR for OS for the 850-mg regimen was 0.37 (95% CI, 0.22-0.62), whereas the HR for OS for the 425-mg regimen was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.24-0.72).
Median PFS was 3.67 months (95% CI, 2.17-6.80) in the 850-mg apatinib group, 3.2 months (95% CI, 2.37-4.53) in the 425-mg treatment group and 1.4 (95% CI, 1.20-1.83 months) for placebo.
Researchers reported three partial responses in the 850-mg group and six partial responses in the 425-mg group.
Safety data indicated tolerable toxicities. They included grade 3-4 hand-foot syndrome and hypertension, as well as mostly moderate hematologic toxicities.
Disclosure: The researchers report no financial disclosures.