A retrospective six-patient series of apatinib for the treatment of persistent or recurrent carcinoma of the cervix

OBJECTIVE: Although advances have been made in the clinical and therapeutic management of women with cervical cancer, the best treatment for patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer is still undefined. Apatinib, a novel inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 tyrosine kinases, has been successful in treating various malignancies. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib in the treatment of recurrent cervical cancer. METHODS: Patients with recurrent cervical cancer received apatinib after failure of the second- or higher-line chemotherapy. Apatinib was administered as 500 mg daily on days 1 through 21 of each 4-week cycle. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and treatment-related adverse events were reviewed and evaluated. RESULTS: Six patients were administered apatinib for at least one complete cycle. The median OS was 16.0 months (95% CI: 6.8–25.2), and the median PFS was 7.0 months (95% CI: 2.2–11.8), One patient achieved partial response and three patients achieved stable disease. Two patients were evaluated as progression disease. The ORR was 16.7% (1/6) and the DCR was 67.7% (4/6). The common side effect of apatinib was hypertension; however, the toxicity of apatinib was tolerable and controllable. CONCLUSIONS: Apatinib is an option in the treatment of recurrent cervical cancer after failure of the second- or higher-line chemotherapy. Further prospective evaluation of the utility of apatinib is required.