Treatment schedule
death
DISEASE PROGRESSION, ADVERSE EFFECT
Initially, 18 patients were administered 500 mg apatinib once per day plus four cycles of chemotherapy, followed by single apatinib (500 mg) treatment until disease progression, death, intolerance, or consent withdrawal. Because of the intolerance to the dosage regimen at the primary stage, 13 patients were subsequently treated with 250 mg apatinib once daily plus four cycles of chemotherapy at the beginning of the treatment, followed by single apatinib (250 mg) treatment until disease progression, death, intolerance, or consent withdrawal. The dosage of apatinib was further adjusted to 250 mg every alternate day if a grade 3–4 adverse effect was observed. The chemotherapeutic agents were standard second‐line chemotherapy drugs, such as irinotecan (60 mg/m