Significant Efficacy of Apatinib in a Patient With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Lung Metastases After Liver Transplantation: A Case Report.

Abstract Antiangiogenesis therapy plays an important role in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, treatment options for HCC recurrence after liver transplantation are currently limited. Apatinib is a small tyrosine kinase inhibitor molecule targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. Here, we report for the first time one case of a patient with advanced HCC who received apatinib after occurring lung metastasis 7 months after liver transplantation. He took 500 mg of apatinib daily for one month, which was decreased to 250 mg daily because of side effects. The patient was confirmed to have a partial response, according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, for 10 months, and the progression-free survival time was greater than 21 months. Our data and experience have indicated that apatinib may be a good choice for HCC recurrence after liver transplantation. Highlights • Targeted therapy serves as an important role in the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation. • In this report, we found that treatment with apatinib for HCC recurrence after liver transplantation showed excellent efficacy. • Apatinib might perform superiorly for metastases of advanced HCC after transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]