OBJECTIVE: To probe into the efficacy and safety of apatinib mesylate combined with etoposide in the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. METHODS: A total of 115 patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer admitted into the hospital from Jan. 2018 to Dec. 2021 were prospectively extracted as the research objects. According to the random number table method

all patients were divided into the treatment group 1（n=38）

treatment group 2（n=38） and treatment group 3（n=39）. Treatment group 1 was treated with oral apatinib mesylate

treatment group 2 was given oral etoposide

and treatment group 3 received apatinib mesylate combined with etoposide. The efficacy

CA125 level and adverse drug reactions of three groups were compared for 6 cycles of treatment

and the progression-free survival time was recorded during follow-up. RESULTS: The isochronous rank sum test showed that there was statistically significant difference in the efficacy of three groups（χ~2=15.789

P<0.05）

and the CBR and ORR of treatment group 3 were significantly higher than those of the treatment group 1 and the treatment group 2（χ~2 were 7.546 and 11.871 respectively

P<0.05）. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that there were statistically significant differences in the point-in-time

between-group

and between-group interactions of CA125 levels among three groups（P<0.05）. Results of the two comparisons showed that there was no statistically significant difference in CA125 levels among three groups before treatment（P>0.05）

and the CA125 level in treatment group 3 after treatment was lower than that in treatment group 2 and treatment group 1

with statistically significant differences（P<0.05）. The CA125 levels of three groups after treatment were significantly lower than those of the same group before treatment

and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse drug reactions among three groups（P>0.05）. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the progression-free survival time of treatment group 3 was longer than that of treatment group 2 and treatment group 1

the difference was statistically significant（χ~2=18.552

P<0.05）. CONCLUSIONS: Apatinib mesylate combined with etoposide has better efficacy in the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer

which can effectively reduce the CA125 levels

without increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions.