Discussion
any-grade, SCLC, TEAEs
BRAIN METASTASIS, SCLC
This work examined the effectiveness of anlotinib combined with etoposide for maintenance treatment of ES-SCLC cases. The above findings suggest that maintenance treatment with anlotinib and etoposide after primary treatment with etoposide + platinum was effective and safe in clinical ES-SCLC.Patient survival in ES-SCLC after treatment with etoposide and platinum is poor. Indeed, in a study by Paz-Ares et al. [Although VEGF is expressed in SCLC, the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab yielded conflicting or disappointing results, with ORRs of 58.0-91.9 and median PFS of 4.7–7.8 months [Third-line anlotinib monotherapy showed promising efficacy in ES-SCLC cases with/without brain metastasis in the ALTER1202 trial [In this work, 96.43% of the examined participants experienced any-grade TEAEs, with grade 3–4 TEAEs in 42.85% of cases. Those numbers are lower than reported for ES-SCLC cases administered other TKIs as maintenance treatment in phase II trials. Indeed, maintenance treatment with sorafenib resulted in 23% treatment discontinuation due to AEs [This study had multiple limitations. First, this was a phase II trial without a control group. In addition, a single center design was used with small sample size. The recent advent of immunotherapy with platinum and etoposide as primary therapy [In conclusion, anlotinib and etoposide is promising and safe in ES-SCLC after primary therapy with etoposide + platinum.