Objective: To evaluation the clinical efficacy and safety of bronchial artery chemoembolization (BACE) combined with apatinib for treatment of advanced central lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).
Methods: Forty-seven patients with pathologically diagnosed stage IIIB or IV central LSCC that was not resectable were selected among hospital patients presenting after November 2016. Twenty-one patients were treated with BACE combined with apatinib; the remaining patients served as a control group treated with BACE alone. Objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were evaluated with postoperative contrast-enhanced CT scans at 3, 6, and 12 months. Progression-free survival (PFS) curves were used to evaluate curative effects. Adverse events were recorded to assess safety.
Results: BACE operations were successfully completed in all 47 patients. Significant differences were found at six and 12 months (P < 0.05). Median PFS was 322 days in the observation group and 209 days in the control group: a statistically significant difference (P = 0.042). One-year survival rates were 76.19% and 46.15% for observation and control patients, respectively; this difference was also significant (P = 0.037). Three patients in the observation group received emergency interventional embolization for hemoptysis, and patients with grade III or greater adverse reaction events (AE) accounted for 19.05% of patients (4/21); these subjects improved or were controlled after active treatment.
Conclusion: BACE combined with apatinib is effective for treatment of advanced central LSCC, with definite short-term efficacy, controllable risk, and high safety. Investigation with a larger sample size is warranted to confirm study results.
Keywords: Apatinib mesylate; bronchial artery chemoembolization; central lung squamous cell carcinoma; non-small-cell lung carcinoma.