Clinical effects of Apatinib combined with DOS neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for LAGC

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effects of apatinib combined with DOS regimen in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC). METHODS: Eighty patients with LAGC admitted to Baoding first Central Hospital from January 2018 to October 2020 were randomly divided into two groups (n=40, respectively). The control group received DOS chemotherapy regimen alone. The experiment group additionally orally took apatinib mesylate tablets. The changes in CEA, CA19-9 and other tumor markers, RO resection rate, incidence of operative complications, adverse reactions, and other indicators were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The overall response rate (ORR) of the experimental group was 72.5%, which was significantly better than that of the control group (50%) (p=0.03). After the treatment, the CEA and CA19-9 in the experiment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p=0.00). The Ro resection rate was 77.5% in the experiment group and 57.5% in the control group (p=0.03). The operation time was shortened and amount of bleeding decreased in the experiment group, and the differences were statistically significant (p=0.00). The incidence of surgical complications in the experimental group was 17.5%, significantly lower than that in the control group (37.5%) (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Apatinib combined with DOS regimen is effective for patients with LAGC without significantly increasing adverse reactions. Meanwhile, tumor markers are reduced significantly. Besides, the Ro resection rate and the incidence of operative complications are obviously superior to the DOS neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen alone.