Anlotinib Plus S-1 for Patients with EGFR Mutation-Negative Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancer with PS Scores of 2-3 After Progression of Second-Line or Later-Line Treatment.

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of combination regimen of anlotinib and S-1 for Chinese patients with EGFR mutation-negative advanced squamous cell lung cancer (SqCLC) with poor performance status (PS,2-3) after progression of second-line or later-line chemotherapy.

Methods: Clinical data of 70 SqCLC patients with PS scores of 2-3 treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between January 1, 2018 to September 31, 2019 who failed second- or more-line treatment were analysed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two treatment groups: anlotinib (12mg) plus S-1 (25mg) combination group and anlotinib (12mg) monotherapy group. The efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were compared.

Results: In terms of the short-term efficacy, there were no significant differences in objective response rate (ORR) (20.0% vs 10.0%, = 0.464) and disease control rate (DCR) (75.0% vs 60.0%, = 0.181) between the two groups. As for the long-term efficacy, there was no significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between the two groups (3.87±0.29 months vs 3.00±0.24 months, =0. 11). The overall survival (OS) of patients in the combination group was longer than S1 group (8.07±0.56 months vs 6.17±0.42 months, =0.022).

Conclusion: Advanced SqCLC patients with higher PS scores still benefit from anlotinib and S-1 combination regimen, even after they failed second-line or later-line systemic treatment.