Combination of apatinib mesylate and second-line chemotherapy for treating gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and efficacy of acitinib mesylate combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. METHODS: A total of 119 patients with gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma were enrolled and randomized into an experimental group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 59). Both groups were treated with a combination of taxane, irinotecan and fluorouracil, while the experimental group also received acitinib mesylate. The clinical efficacy, survival time and adverse reactions of patients in two groups were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The total remission rate in the experimental group and the control group was 15.79% and 3.23%, respectively; the disease control rate was 73.68% and 54.84%, respectively; and progression-free survival was 3.72 months (1–13.5 months) and 3.04 months (1–6 months), respectively. Overall survival was 13.66 months (5–24 months) and 10.08 months (6.5–19.5 months), in the experimental group and the control group, respectively. In addition, the incidence of adverse events in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group. CONCLUSION: Apatinib mesylate combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma was safe and effective, with improved survival benefit compared with control.