ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore whether the survival benefit of the third-line extensive small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) will be obtained by the combination of anlotinib and radiotherapy, and evaluate the safety of this treatment regimen. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with ES-SCLC who received third-line treatment with less than three metastatic organs at the Cancer Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from November 2018 to July 2021 were collected and treated with radiotherapy based on anlotinib. Kaplan-Meier curve was used to estimate the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), descriptive statistical analysis was used to evaluate the safety, and European organisation for research and treatment of cancer quality of life questionnaire-core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used to evaluate the quality of life. Results: The follow-up cut-off date was July 1, 2021, and the follow-up time ranged from 4.8 to 31.0 months, with a median follow-up time of 10.2 months for the entire group. Among the 27 patients, 4 achieved partial remission, 17 had stable disease and 6 had progression of disease. The objective remission rate (ORR) was 14.8%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 77.8%. Median PFS and the median OS were 5 months and 11 months, respectively. The most common adverse reactions included fatigue (33.3%, 9/27), anorexia (14.8%, 4/27), bleeding (14.8%, 4/27) and hand-foot syndrome (11.1%, 3/27). Most of them were grade 1 to grade 2, 3 cases were more than grade 3, and there was no grade 5 toxicity recorded. After radiotherapy combined with amlotinib treatment, patients showed improvement in general health, somatic functioning, social functioning, and emotional functioning (all P<0.05). Conclusion: For the third-line ES-SCLC patients, radiotherapy based on the anlotinib can significantly prolong their PFS and OS, and the adverse reactions can be tolerated.
