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Efficacy and safety of anlotinib-based chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid carcinoma

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Abstract

Purpose

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most lethal malignancies with no effective treatment. In this study, we investigated the efficacy and safety of anlotinib-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy for ATC.

Methods

Locally advanced or metastatic (LA/M) ATC patients who never received antitumor treatment of any sort were eligible for this study. The patients received 2–6 cycles anlotinib12mg on days 1–14 per 21 days. Chemotherapy regimens consisted of paclitaxel, capecitabine, or paclitaxel plus carboplatin/capecitabine. The end points including Objective Response Rate (ORR), Disease Control Rate (DCR), Progression-Free Survival (PFS), and Disease Specification Survival (DCS) were analyzed.

Results

A total of 25 patients were enrolled. 1 patient achieved a Complete Response (CR) and 14 patients achieved Partial Response (PR). The best ORR was 60.0%, and the DCR was 88.0%. The median PFS was 25.1 weeks, and the median DCS was 96.0 weeks. Approximately 56% (14 patients) had at least one Adverse Event (AE) of any grade. Most AEs were well tolerated. The most common AEs was palmar–plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome (28.0%).

Conclusions

Anlotinib-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy is a safe and effective intervention for the treatment of LA/M ATC patients.

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Data availability

The dataset generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ATC:

Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma

LA/M:

Locally Advanced or Metastatic

ORR:

Objective Response Rate

DCR:

Disease Control Rate

PFS:

Progression-Free Survival

DCS:

Disease Specification Survival

CR:

Complete Response

PR:

Partial Response

SD:

Stable Disease

PD:

Progressive Disease

AE:

Adverse Event

VEGF:

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

EGFR:

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor

TKIs:

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

RECIST:

Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors

CTCAE:

Cancer Institute’s Common Terminology Criteria For Adverse Events

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the patients and their families who participated to this study. We also would like to thank Dr. Jing Fang (The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China) for helping us to check the literature and analyze the data.

Author contributions

J.L. and S.W. designed the study. X.Z., J.W. and T.Y. wrote the current manuscript. All authors were involved in the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the data and critical revisions of the manuscript. W.T. and X.P. performed the statistical analysis. J.L. and S.W. provided administrative, technical, or material support. All authors gave their final approval of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 81802641.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Xucai Zheng, Jing Wang, Tingbo Ye

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, West District of The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China

    Xucai Zheng, Tingbo Ye, Weifang Tang, Xikong Pan, Shengying Wang & Jianjun Liu

  2. Hospital Outpatient Department, West District of The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China

    Jing Wang

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  1. Xucai Zheng
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Correspondence to Shengying Wang or Jianjun Liu.

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This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by institutional review board of The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China according to its policy (ID:2022-TJW-01).

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Zheng, X., Wang, J., Ye, T. et al. Efficacy and safety of anlotinib-based chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Endocrine 81, 540–546 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-023-03390-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-023-03390-y

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