Efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel versus liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel monotherapy in patients with recurrent platinum‐resistant ovarian cancer
Abstract
Aim
Apatinib is an effective treatment for patients with gynecological cancers. This study aimed to further explore the efficacy and safety of apatinib plus chemotherapy in patients with recurrent platinum‐resistant ovarian cancer (PROC).
Methods
Totally, 105 patients with recurrent PROC receiving apatinib plus chemotherapy (N = 51) and chemotherapy alone (N = 54) were retrospectively enrolled in this cohort study.
Results
Objective response rate (37.3% vs. 14.8%) (p = 0.009) and disease control rate (80.4% vs. 61.1%) (p = 0.030) were increased in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group versus the chemotherapy group. The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 5.5 (3.4–7.6) and 21.4 (16.2–26.6) months in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group, and they were 3.8 (3.0–4.6) and 14.8 (11.9–17.7) months in the chemotherapy group. Meanwhile, the Kaplan–Meier curves revealed that PFS (p = 0.008) and OS (p = 0.012) were prolonged in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group versus the chemotherapy group. This finding was confirmed by multivariate Cox's proportional regression analyses: enter method (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.515, p = 0.007 for PFS; HR = 0.222, p < 0.001 for OS) and step‐forward method (HR = 0.608, p = 0.019 for PFS; HR = 0.346, p = 0.001 for OS). Additionally, the incidence of hypertension was increased in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group versus the chemotherapy group (p = 0.038), while others were not different between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Grades 3 and 4 adverse events were neutropenia, hypertension, leukopenia, hand–foot syndrome, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, thrombocytopenia, and anemia in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group.
Conclusion
Apatinib combined with chemotherapy is a superior choice over chemotherapy alone for recurrent PROC management.