PMC8569283_01
Images of neck tumor. (a) Before second-line chemotherapy, MRI revealed a soft tissue mass with a volume of about 7.5 cm3 x 5.5 cm3 x 7 cm3 on the right neck that invaded adjacent muscles and skin, and multiple enlarged cervical lymph nodes. (b) After the second cycle of second-line chemotherapy, MRI examination revealed a slight decrease in the volume of the tumor. (c) After apatinib treatment for 10 days, the computed tomography revealed the neck tumor was markedly reduced.
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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a soft tissue mass with a volume of about 7.5 cm3 x 5.5 cm3 x 7 cm3 on the right neck that invaded adjacent muscles and skin and multiple enlarged cervical lymph nodes (Figure 1a; Table 1). MRI examination revealed a slight decrease in the volume of the tumor compared to pre-second-line chemotherapy (Figure 1b; Table 1). However, due to rapid tumor shrinkage, a local skin ulceration with exudate was formed (Figure 1c; Table 1).
Clinical pictures of neck tumor. (a) Before treatment with apatinib on 16 December 2019. (b) After apatinib treatment for 5 days on 21 December 2019.
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After consultation with an oncologist and head and neck surgeon, given the large neck mass, insensitive treatment, cost of treatment, and VEGF (+), apatinib was administered (500 mg/day) on 16 December 2019 (Figure 2a). After only 5 days of treatment, the size of the neck mass had significantly reduced and was almost flat (Figure 2b).