Efficacy of Apatinib in Radioactive Iodine-refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Summary

Radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC) is a great challenge in the treatment of thyroid cancer. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), like sorafenib and lenvatinib which have been approved by food and drug administration (FDA), could not be affordable for most of the Chinese patients. Apatinib is a highly selective VEGFR2 inhibitor and reduces the angiogenesis of tumor effectively, which is a proven and effective drug in many solid tumors. A phase II study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of apatinib in RAIR-DTC ,which enrolled 20 patients and 10 of them had obtained a shout-term efficacy, demonstrating the peculiar potential in treatment of RAIR-DTC. In this study, the investigators aim to further explore the efficacy and safety of apatinib in RAIR-DTC.

Timeline

Start

2016-12

Primary completion

2020-03-25

Completion

2023-12-31

Publications

• Sun D, Zhang X, Jin X, Shi C, Sun Y, Zhang Y, Liang J, Lin Y. BRAFV600E mutation is associated with better prognoses in radioactive iodine refractory thyroid cancer patients treated with multi-kinase inhibitors: a retrospective analysis of registered clinical trials. Thyroid Res. 2025 Feb 10;18(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s13044-025-00223-0.
• Zhu Y, Liu K, Wang K, Peng L. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors in Chinese Patients With Advanced Radioactive Iodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: A Network Meta-Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Jul 14;13:909333. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.909333. eCollection 2022.
• Lin Y, Qin S, Li Z, Yang H, Fu W, Li S, Chen W, Gao Z, Miao W, Xu H, Zhang Q, Zhao X, Bao J, Li L, Ren Y, Lin C, Jing S, Ma Q, Liang J, Chen G, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Zhou X, Sang Y, Hou Z. Apatinib vs Placebo in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic, Radioactive Iodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: The REALITY Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2022 Feb 1;8(2):242-250. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.6268.

Drugs

Indications