Abstract
PURPOSE: Anlotinib is widely used in the treatment of lung cancer. However, there remains a lack of predictive biomarkers to effectively gauge the response to anlotinib therapy. We conducted a retrospective study to preliminarily explore potential risk factors that might predict outcomes in lung cancer patients undergoing anlotinib treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed lung cancer patients treated with anlotinib at our hospital between 1 June 2018 and 1 June 2021. Data were gathered from electronic medical records. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were described. Predictive factors related to treatment efficacy were preliminarily analyzed using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, clinical stage IV (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-5.82, p = 0.0311), N-terminal fragment brain natriuretic peptides (NT-pro-BNP) > 300 pg/mL (HR = 2.54, 95% CI, 1.17-5.52, p = 0.0183), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) > 16.3 ng/mL (HR = 1.70, 95% CI, 1.03-2.81, p = 0.0389) were associated with shorter OS, whereas age (HR = 0.96, 95% CI, 0.94-0.99, p = 0.0055) was associated with a longer PFS in fully adjusted model. Kaplan-Meier analyses of cumulative risk factors (clinical stage IV, NT-pro-BNP > 300 pg/mL, and NSE > 16.3 ng/mL) indicated that patients with a greater number of coexisting risk factors had significantly shorter OS (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Clinical stage IV, NT-pro-BNP level, and NSE level were identified as independent prognostic factors for lung cancer patients undergoing anlotinib treatment. Patients with multiple high-risk factors may derive limited benefit from anlotinib.