Chao Jing

and 10 more

Aim: The current management of advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma remains unsatisfactory. We investigated the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy of apatinib and S-1, considering the potential advantage of home-based treatment without hospital admission, in patients with platinum-refractory gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Methods:Between April 2015 and May 2019, we included 37 patients with advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma refractory to first-line platinum-containing therapy, who were treated with apatinib at an initial dose of 500 mg once daily continuously and S-1 at a dose of 40-60 mg twice daily on days 1-14 of a 21-day cycle. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoints were objective response rates, disease control rates, and safety. Results:At the data cutoff, the median PFS and OS were 4.2 months and 8.2 months, respectively. Of 37 eligible patients, 8 (21.6%) patients reached objective responses, 31 (83.8%) patients reached disease control. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 8 (21.6%) patients, including hand-foot syndrome, hypertension, and diarrhea, etc. Conclusions: The combination of Apatinib and S-1 showed promising efficacy and manageable toxicity as a home-based, second-line therapy in patients with advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma refractory to platinum-containing therapy.