Efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel versus liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel monotherapy in patients with recurrent platinum‐resistant ovarian cancer

Aim Apatinib is an effective treatment for patients with gynecological cancers. This study aimed to further explore the efficacy and safety of apatinib plus chemotherapy in patients with recurrent platinum‐resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). Methods Totally, 105 patients with recurrent PROC receiving apatinib plus chemotherapy (N = 51) and chemotherapy alone (N = 54) were retrospectively enrolled in this cohort study. Results Objective response rate (37.3% vs. 14.8%) (p = 0.009) and disease control rate (80.4% vs. 61.1%) (p = 0.030) were increased in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group versus the chemotherapy group. The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 5.5 (3.4–7.6) and 21.4 (16.2–26.6) months in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group, and they were 3.8 (3.0–4.6) and 14.8 (11.9–17.7) months in the chemotherapy group. Meanwhile, the Kaplan–Meier curves revealed that PFS (p = 0.008) and OS (p = 0.012) were prolonged in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group versus the chemotherapy group. This finding was confirmed by multivariate Cox's proportional regression analyses: enter method (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.515, p = 0.007 for PFS; HR = 0.222, p 0.05). Grades 3 and 4 adverse events were neutropenia, hypertension, leukopenia, hand–foot syndrome, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, thrombocytopenia, and anemia in the apatinib plus chemotherapy group. Conclusion Apatinib combined with chemotherapy is a superior choice over chemotherapy alone for recurrent PROC management.