Apatinib added when NSCLC patients get slow progression with EGFR‐TKI: A prospective, single‐arm study.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‐TKI) acquired resistance was an inevitably events in NSCLC treatment. Aims: Intending to overcome the acquired resistance of EGFR‐TKI. Materials & Methods: A clinical trial was, we enrolled 12 patients who were slowly progressing on first‐generation EGFR‐TKI, and added apatinib when the patients got slow progression. Results: Seven patients were included in the efficacy analysis. The median PFS2 of apatinib combined with EGFR‐TKI was 8.2 months (95% CI, 7.3 m‐NA), and the total PFS reached 20.9 months (95% CI, 17.3 m‐NA) when plus PFS1. All the adverse events were manageable. The median PFS was significantly longer for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)‐cleared patients (8.4 months; 95% CI, 8.2‐NA) than for those ctDNA not cleared (7.1 months; 95% CI, 6.9‐NA) (p = 0.0082). Discussion: The addition of apatinib did improve the duration of first‐generation EGFR‐TKI use, and the duration was better than the first‐line use of third‐generation EGFR‐TKI. Conclusion: The addition of apatinib when the patients got slow progression after initial EGFR‐TKI therapy may be a good treatment option and the side effects are controllable. It is possible to monitor treatment efficacy using ctDNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]