Research Progress on Antitumor Mechanism of Apatinib

In recent years, antiangiogenic drugs based on VEGF and VEGFRs signaling pathway have been widely used in the treatment of malignant tumors. Apatinib is an orally bioavailable small-molecule antiangiogenic agent and can specifically inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity of VEGFR, thereby inhibiting tumor angiogenesis. Apatinib is the first-level recommendation of third-line treatment of gastric cancer in CSCO Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastric Cancer published in 2018. Apatinib has been proved to be effective and safe in gastric, lung and breast cancers. In addition, the drug shows great potential in the treatment of a variety of solid tumors. This article reviews the recent progress on the mechanism, clinical efficacy, related efficacy predictors of apatinib and its combination with other antitumor drugs.