Combination of apatinib and docetaxel in treating advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer patients with wild-type EGFR: a multi-center, phase II trial.

Background: This trial aimed to investigate the treatment response, survival profiles and treatment-related adverse events (AEs) of apatinib plus docetaxel in advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Methods: Thirty advanced non-squamous NSCLC patients with wild-type EGFR were recruited in this multi-center, phase II trial. All patients received apatinib (orally 500 mg, once daily until disease progression, intolerable toxicity, or death) plus docetaxel (intravenously 60 mg/m at day 1 every 3 weeks for 4-6 cycles). The treatment response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and treatment-related AEs were evaluated.

Results: One patient lacked response and survival assessment due to early lost follow-up, therefore, 29 patients were included in response and survival analysis. There was no (0.0%) patient achieved complete remission, 8 (27.6%) patients achieved partial remission, 20 (69%) patients with stable disease, and 1 (3.4%) patient with progressive disease, resulting in objective response rate and disease control rate of 27.6% and 96.6%, respectively. According to the survival data, median PFS was 5.3 months (95% CI: 3.6-6.9 months) and median OS was 9.6 months (95% CI: 6.33-12.9 months). For safety, totally 30 patients were included in the analysis. Common non-hematologic AEs included hypertension (66.7%), hand-foot syndrome (40.0%), proteinuria (36.7%); common hematologic AEs included leukopenia (26.7%), thrombocytopenia (23.3%), neutropenia (16.7%). Notably, majority of AEs were at grade 1-2, and the overall AEs were tolerable.

Conclusions: Apatinib plus docetaxel is an effective and tolerable treatment option for advanced non-squamous NSCLC with wild-type EGFR.