Efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in treating patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma
Huiying Gu, Jing Li, Nan You, Ke Wu, Zheng Wang, Liang Wang, Yinan Zhu, Qinqin Liu, Xuehui Peng, Lu Zheng
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Apatinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitor, has shown promising therapeutic effect for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This prospective clinical study was implemented to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) versus TACE alone in treating patients with recurrent HCC after hepatectomy. METHODS: Eligible patients with postoperative recurrent HCC from January 2018 to January 2020 were enrolled at the Xinqiao Hospital of Army Medical University. Patients were randomized 1:1 into TACE plus apatinib group or TACE-alone group. The clinical information of patients was collected, and the patients were followed up until untreatable progression or the end of the study. Adverse events (AEs), overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) between the two groups were evaluated. In addition, the objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate (DCR) were determined according to the modified Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Among those indexes, PFS was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: 75.0%; both P>0.05). Furthermore, the TACE plus apatinib treatment did significantly increase the short-term ORR and DCR when compared with the TACE-alone group (all P<0.05). And no unexpected toxicity or procedure-related mortality was occurred during this study. CONCLUSIONS: The combination treatment of apatinib and TACE might be safe and of potential benefit on patients with intrahepatic recurrent HCC.