Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Apatinib Combined with Irinotecan in HER2-negative Patients with Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma after First-Line Treatment Failure: A Single-Arm, Single-Center Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND

In this study, the clinical efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with irinotecan in HER2-negative patients with first-line treatment failure for advanced gastric adenocarcinoma and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma were evaluated.

METHODS

We performed a single-arm, retrospective study at one tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China. Eligible patients aged 28-77 years with histologically confirmed HER2-negative advanced gastric cancer who had previously received first-line treatment were included. The patients received irinotecan (180 mg/m intravenously once every 3 weeks) plus oral apatinib (500 mg once daily on days 1-21 of each 3-week cycle), until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or death. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), which were calculated via the Kaplan‒Meier method.

RESULTS

Between Feb 21, 2019, and Aug 14, 2023, 79 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median PFS was 3.20 months (95% CI, 1.57‒4.83), and the median OS was 7.60 months (95% CI, 5.11‒10.10). According to RECIST version 1.1, 15 patients (18.99%) achieved an objective response, and 31 patients (39.24%) achieved disease control. In terms of the safety profile, 72.2% of patients experienced treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade, among whom, 59.5% of patients experienced grade 1-2 adverse events and 12.7% of patients experienced grade 3-4 adverse events.

CONCLUSION

Apatinib combined with irinotecan demonstrates modest efficacy with manageable safety profiles in HER2-negative patients with advanced gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma for whom first-line treatment has failed. Further prospective studies are warranted.