Efficacy and Safety of Apatinib in Patients with Recurrent or Refractory Melanoma

Background: Prognosis of patients with metastatic malignant melanoma is very poor and partly due to high resistance to conventional chemotherapies. The study’s objectives were to assess the activity and tolerability of apatinib, an oral small molecule anti-angiogenesis inhibitor, in patients with recurrent advanced melanoma. Methods: : This was a single-arm, single-center phase II trial. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) and the secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and overall survival (OS). Eligible patients received at least one first-line therapy for advanced melanoma and experienced recurrence. Apatinib (500 mg) was orally administered daily. Trail registration: Clinical Trials, ID: NCT03383237. Registered on 24 December 2017. URL of trail registry record: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov. Results: : Fifteen patients were included in the analysis. The median PFS was 4.0 months. There were two major objective responses, for a 13.33% response rate. Eleven patients had stable disease, with a DCR of 86.67%.The median OS was 12.0 months. The most common clinically significant grade 3 or 4 toxicities included hypertension and canker sore. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions: : Apatinib showed antitumor activity as a second or first-line therapy in patients with malignant melanoma. The toxicity was manageable.