Abstract: Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Methods Sixty-five patients with mCRC treated with apatinib were enrolled in this study for retrospective analysis. The factors affecting the recent effective, progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse reactions were evaluated. Results The disease control rate in 63 evaluable patients was 69.9%. The median PFS for patients received first-line, second-line, and third-line and above apatinib treatment were 9.3 months, 5.8 months, and 3.3 months, respectively(P＜0.001). The PFS in the apatinib group and the apatinib/chemotherapy combination group in the third-line and above treatment were 2.9 months and 3.3 months, respectively. There was no significant difference in serum cholinesterase and albumin concentrations between patients with liver metastasis before and after treatment. Adverse reactions were mainly grade 1 to 2 hypertension, proteinuria, myelosuppression and hand-foot syndrome. Conclusions Apatinib is an effective treatment with controllable toxicity for mCRC, which has mild adverse effect on liver reserve function.

Key words: intestinal neoplasms, apatinib, clinical efficacy, safety