Anlotinib as Monotherapy or Combination Therapy for Recurrent High-Grade Glioma: A Retrospective Study

Jun Yin; Wenya Yin; Linlin Zheng; Yimin Li; Cheng Luo; Shuo Zhang; Lei Duan; Hang Zhou; Kai Cheng; Jinyi Lang; Ke Xu

doi:10.1177/11795549231175714

Anlotinib as Monotherapy or Combination Therapy for Recurrent High-Grade Glioma: A Retrospective Study

Clin Med Insights Oncol. 2023 Jul 6:17:11795549231175714. doi: 10.1177/11795549231175714. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jun Yin¹, Wenya Yin^{1

2}, Linlin Zheng¹, Yimin Li¹, Cheng Luo¹, Shuo Zhang¹, Lei Duan^{1

2}, Hang Zhou³, Kai Cheng⁴, Jinyi Lang¹, Ke Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Radiation Oncology Key Laboratory Of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
² Clinical Medical College, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
³ Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Key Laboratory Of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, Radiation Oncology Key Laboratory Of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Background: Anlotinib is a multi-target anti-angiogenic agent. The retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of anlotinib as monotherapy or combination therapy for the treatment of recurrent high-grade gliomas.

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (according to the 2021 World Health Organization classification as levels III-IV) at Sichuan Cancer Hospital from June 2019 to June 2022 were included. The patients were divided into an anlotinib-monotherapy group and an anlotinib-combination group, and received oral anlotinib 8 to 12 mg once a day, with 2 weeks on/1 week off. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), 6-month PFS rate, objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR). Also, adverse events were evaluated using the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE version 5.0).

Results: A total of 29 patients (including 20 glioblastomas, 1 diffuse midline glioma, 5 anaplastic astrocytoma, and 3 anaplastic oligodendroglioma) were included in this study. Of these, 34.48% of the patients were treated with anlotinib alone and 65.52% with anlotinib combination therapy. The median follow-up time was 11.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.4-15.7). The median PFS was 9.4 months (95% CI: 6.5-12.3), and the 6-month PFS rate was 62.1%. The median OS was 12.7 months (95% CI: 9.7-15.7), and the 12-month OS rate was 48.3%. Evaluation of treatment response was performed according to RANO (response assessment in neuro-oncology, RANO) criteria, including 21 partial response, 6 stable disease, and 2 PFS events. The ORR and DCR were 72.4%, and 93.1%, respectively. Grade III AEs occurred in 2 patients, and the others were less than grade III. The most common AE was thrombocytopenia, with an incidence rate of 31.0%. All AEs were alleviated and controlled by symptomatic treatment. No treatment-related deaths occurred.

Conclusion: Anlotinib had a low incidence of AEs and good safety in the treatment of recurrent high-grade glioma. Moreover, it showed good short-term effectiveness and significantly prolonged the PFS of patients, which may become a promising therapeutic option for recurrent high-grade glioma and lay a foundation for further clinical studies.

Keywords: Recurrent glioma; anlotinib; high-grade glioma; molecular targeted therapy.