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Apatinib in refractory radiation-induced brain edema: A case report
Wei Guo Hu1, Yi Ming Weng, Yi Dong
1Department of Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Rationale:
Apatinib is a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, which has observed to be effective and safe in refractory radiation-induced brain edema, like Avastin did. Till now, there is no case report after apatinib came in the market.
Patient Concerns:
Two patients who received brain radiotherapy developed clinical manifestations of brain edema, including dizziness, headache, limb activity disorder, and so on.
Diagnoses:
Two patients were both diagnosed as refractory radiation-induced brain edema.
Interventions:
Two patients received apatinib (500 mg/day) for 2 and 4 weeks.
Outcomes:
Two patients got symptomatic improvements from apatinib in different degrees. Magnetic resonance imaging after apatinib treatments showed that compared with pre-treatment imaging, the perilesional edema reduced dramatically. However, the toxicity of apatinib was controllable and tolerable.
Lessons:
Apatinib can obviously relieve the symptoms of refractory radiation-induced brain edema and improve the quality of life, which offers a new method for refractory radiation-induced brain edema in clinical practices. But that still warrants further investigation in the prospective study.
