Safety and efficacy of apatinib as third or later line treatment for advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma: A post-marketing phase IV study

e16034 Background: Apatinib, a small molecule multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor with high selectivity for VEGFR-2, has been approved for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma in China by significantly improving progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Here, we report safety and efficacy data from an open-label, single-arm, multicenter, phase IV trial of apatinib as a third-line or later line treatment for advanced gastric cancer. Methods: Eligible patients had histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma; and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0–2; and adequate haematological and hepatic function; and failure of at least two lines of chemotherapy. Patients received oral apatinib until disease progression, death or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was safety, and secondary endpoints included PFS and OS. Results: The intention-to-treat population (ITT) included 2004 patients. At baseline, the median age was 59 (range, 19-85) years, ECOG performance status of 0/1/2 (%) was 15.4/68.8/15.1, and stage III/IV was 3.5/96.4; 98.8% had metastases, and among which metastatic foci≤2/ > 2 was 64.5/34.2 (%), respectively. 89.6% of the patients were given apatinib 500mg as the initial does and the median treatment duration was 56 days. After a median follow-up of 126.5 days, adverse events (AEs) occurred in 95.1% of the patients and 70.3% were grade ≥3. 87.9% of the patients experienced treatment-related AEs (TRAEs), of which 51% had grade ≥3, 12.3% and 16.8% reduced dose and discontinued the treatment, respectively. 57 (2.9%) TRAEs-related deaths were reported, mainly because of gastrointestinal bleeding (16 cases), upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (7), cerebral haemorrhage (2), and gastric perforation (1). The incidence of TRAEs of special interest was 74.3%; 38.1% of patients developed grade≥3, mainly including hypertension (26.3%), bleeding (5.1%), proteinuria (4.5%), and hand-foot syndrome (3.1%). In an ITT population, median PFS was 2.7 months (95%CI 2.23-2.79) and median OS was 5.8 months (95% CI 5.42-6.11). Conclusions: This study confirms that apatinib has a well-established and manageable safety profile and survival benefit as third or later line therapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Clinical trial information: NCT02426034.