Efficacy observation of apatinib combined with capecitabine in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer

Objective To observe the efficacy of apatinib combined with capecitabine in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer. Methods A total of 101 patients with advanced esophageal cancer in Taixing People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province from June 2017 to February 2018 were enrolled, and all the patients were divided into the control group (50 cases) and the observation group (51 cases) according to the random number table. The control group was treated with capecitabine combined with radiotherapy, and the observation group was treated with apatinib on the basis of the control group. The therapeutic effects, adverse reactions and progression-free survival (PFS) time of the two groups were compared. Results The overall response rate in the observation group was higher than that in the control group [90.2% (46/51) vs. 72.0% (36/50)], and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 5.473, P = 0.019). There were no significant differences in leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, proteinuria and hypertension between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The median PFS time in the observation group was 18.49 months (95% CI 15.35-25.03 months), and that in the control group was 13.33 months (95% CI 10.36-18.24 months), and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2 = 5.995, P < 0.01). Conclusions The therapeutic effect of apatinib combined with capecitabine in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer is accurate. No obvious adverse reaction occurs, and the PFS time is prolonged. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; Drug therapy, combination; Apatinib; Capecitabine