Objective   To observe the efficacy and safety of docetaxel plus apatinib as a second-line treatment for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

  Methods   From February 2015 to August 2016, 39 eligible patients were randomly assigned to experimental arm (19 cases) and control arm (20 cases). Patients in the experimental arm received 60 mg/m² d1 docetaxel and 500 mg d1-21 apatinib for a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. Patients in the control arm received chemotherapy only. Disease control rate (DCR), incidence of adverse event, and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed.

  Results   The disease control rates (DCR) in the experimental and control arms were 63.2% and 30.0%, respectively, with statistical difference (P= 0.039). The experimental arm experienced many grades 3-4 hematologic adverse events with statistical difference (P=0.032). The median PFS values were 5.6 months (95% CI=4.8-6.3) and 3.0 months (95% CI=1.8-4.1) with statistical difference (P=0.04).

  Conclusion   Docetaxel plus apatinib can be delivered safely with careful monitoring for the treatment of advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, and this treatment can significantly improve the DCR and PFS.