title: Salvage treatment with apatinib for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  No definitive chemotherapeutic regimen has been established in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who failed second- or third-line treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate apatinib, a VEGFR-2 inhibitor, in advanced NSCLC as salvage treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of apatinib in patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC from 2014 to 2015 in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-two patients were included in the present study. Four patients achieved partial response, and 22 achieved stable disease, representing a response rate of 9.5% and a disease control rate of 61.9%. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 4.2 and 6.0 months, respectively. The toxicities associated with apatinib were generally acceptable with a total grade 3/4 toxicity of 50%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Apatinib appears to have some activity against advanced NSCLC when utilized as salvage treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhengbo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guangyuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemotherapy, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Key Laboratory Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: VEGF; apatinib; efficacy; non-small-cell lung cancer