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Apatinib: A Review in Advanced Gastric Cancer and Other Advanced Cancers

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A Correction to this article was published on 04 May 2018

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Abstract

Apatinib [Aitan® (brand name in China)], also known as rivoceranib, is a novel, small molecule, selective vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase inhibitor and is the second anti-angiogenic drug to be approved in China for the treatment of advanced or metastatic gastric cancer. This article summarizes the pharmacological properties of apatinib and reviews its clinical use in chemotherapy-experienced patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma, including gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA), or with other advanced cancers such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer, gynaecological cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), thyroid cancer and sarcomas. As third- or subsequent-line therapy, oral apatinib significantly prolonged median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with placebo and had a manageable safety profile in Chinese patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer or GEA participating in randomized, double-blind, multicentre, phase 2 and 3 trials. More limited evidence also supports it use as subsequent-line treatment in Chinese patients with other advanced or metastatic solid tumours, including NSCLC, breast cancer and HCC. Further clinical experience and long-term pharmacovigilance data are required to more definitively establish the efficacy and safety profile of apatinib, including its use in combination with other chemotherapy agents and its role in the management of other types of advanced or metastatic solid tumours. In the meantime, given its convenient administration regimen and the limited treatment options and poor prognosis for patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumours, apatinib is an important, emerging treatment option for adult patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma or GEA who have progressed or relapsed after chemotherapy.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of apatinib was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Lesley J. Scott

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

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Lesley Scott is a salaried employee of Adis/Springer, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: B. Cao, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University Cancer Center, Beijing, China; Z. Du, Department of Oncology, 363 Hospital, Cheng Du, China; H. Fang, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; J. Gao, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Beijing, China; G. Roviello, Department of Onco-Hematology, Division of Medical Oncology, IRCSS-CROB, Referral Cancer Center of Basilicata, Pisa, Italy; L-B. Xu, Department of Hepatopancreato-bilary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; J. Yang, Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Tianjin, China; F. Zhou, Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; H. Zhu, Department of Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

The original version of this article was revised: Due to error in the introduction section.

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Scott, L.J. Apatinib: A Review in Advanced Gastric Cancer and Other Advanced Cancers. Drugs 78, 747–758 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-018-0903-9

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