Abstract:Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib compared with paclitaxel or docetaxel monotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer and therefore to provide references for clinical medication.Methods Articles about apatinib versus paclitaxel or docetaxel monotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer were searched in CNKI, CQVIP, Wanfang Data, PubMed and Cochrane Library. The quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) meeting inclusion criteria was evaluated, and the meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software.Results A total of 9 RCTs were included, involving 637 patients. The meta-analysis showed that compared with paclitaxel or docetaxel monotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, apatinib improved the objective response rate [R = 1.77 (95% CI: 1.15, 2.72)] and disease control rate [R = 2.15 (95% CI: 1.42, 3.24)]. The health status of patients receiving apatinib was better than that of those receiving paclitaxel as assessed by Karnofsky Performance Scale [MD=6.84 (95% CI: 4.84, 8.84)]. Besides, the incidences of myelosuppression [R = 0.39 (95% CI: 0.26, 0.57)] and gastrointestinal adverse reactions [R=0.50 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.76)] in patients with apatinib therapy were lower than those in patients with paclitaxel or docetaxel monotherapy.Conclusions In comparison to paclitaxel or docetaxel, apatinib can improve objective response rate and disease control rate, enhance the health status and the quality of life of patients, and lower the incidences of myelosuppression and gastrointestinal adverse reactions in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.