A retrospective cohort study examining the effects of anti-PD-1 antibody in combination with apatinib in patients previously treated for HER2-negative advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer

Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICI) with vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)/VEGF receptor(VEGFR) inhibitors are effective in treating a number of solid tumors; however, evidence in advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction(G/GEJ) cancer is limited. This retrospective study included consecutive patients who received a programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1) inhibitor plus the VEGFR-2 inhibitor apatinib, second-line or later to treat unresectable advanced or metastatic, histologically-proven, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-negative G/GEJ cancer in a single center between November 1, 2018 and March 31, 2021. Treatment was continued until the disease progressed or the toxicity became intolerable. We examined data from 52 patients. The primary tumor site was the stomach in 29 patients and the GEJ in 23 patients. PD-1 inhibitors administered included camrelizumab(n = 28), sintilimab(n = 18), pembrolizumab(n = 3), and tislelizumab(n = 1) and all patients were given 200 mg every 3 weeks(Q3W), and toripalimab(240 mg Q3W) and nivolumab(200 mg every 2 weeks) were given to 1 patient each. For 28 days, apatinib 250 mg was administered orally once a day. The objective response rate(ORR) was 15.4%(95 %confidence interval[CI]6.9-28.1), and the disease control rate(DCR) was 61.5%(95 %CI47.0-74.7). After 14.8 months of median follow-up, the median progression-free survival(PFS) was 4.2 months (95% CI 2.6-4.8), and the overall survival(OS) was 9.3 months(95%CI7.9-12.9). Twelve patients underwent grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events(23.1%). There was no unexpected toxicity or death. This trial demonstrated combination therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody and apatinib was effective and safe in patients with previously treated unresectable advanced or metastatic G/GEJ cancer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.