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Apatinib plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma patients: a prospective, cohort study

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Abstract

Background

Apatinib, a small molecule targeting VEGFR2, is commonly used for advanced gastric cancer treatment. This prospective cohort study further investigated the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma patients.

Methods

Ninety-six locally advanced gastric carcinoma patients were divided into the apatinib plus chemotherapy group (N = 45) and chemotherapy group (N = 51) according to their chosen treatment. Apatinib was administered (375 mg/day), and S-1 plus oxaliplatin (SOX) or oxaliplatin plus capecitabine (CapOx) was given as chemotherapy, for 3 cycles with 3 weeks a cycle before surgery.

Results

The objective response rate (62.2% vs. 37.3%, P = 0.015) and pathological response grade (P = 0.011) were better; meanwhile, the tumor-resection rate (95.6% vs. 84.3%, P = 0.143) and pathological complete response rate (23.3% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.080) exhibited increasing trends (without statistical significance) in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group compared with the chemotherapy group. Additionally, the apatinib plus chemotherapy group achieved prolonged disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.019) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.047) compared with the chemotherapy group. After adjusted by multivariate Cox’s regression analysis, neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy was still superior to chemotherapy regarding DFS (hazard ratio (HR): 0.277, P = 0.014) and OS (HR: 0.316, P = 0.038). Notably, the incidences of adverse events between the two groups were not different (P > 0.050). Moreover, the most common adverse events of neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy were leukopenia (42.2%), fatigue (37.8%), hypertension (37.8%), and anemia (31.1%).

Conclusion

Neoadjuvant apatinib plus chemotherapy realizes better clinical response, pathological response, survival profile, and non-inferior safety profile compared to chemotherapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

    Yun Sun, Yanan Fan, Zhibin Ye, Jiantao Dong & Lifei Zhang

  2. Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hebei General Hospital, No. 348 Heping West Road, Hebei, 050051, China

    Yanhui Peng

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  1. Yun Sun
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  2. Yanan Fan
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Correspondence to Yanhui Peng.

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The study was permitted by Ethics Committee. Each patient signed the informed consent.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Sun, Y., Fan, Y., Ye, Z. et al. Apatinib plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced gastric carcinoma patients: a prospective, cohort study. Ir J Med Sci 192, 1033–1040 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03075-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03075-x

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