NGR015: Study in Second Line for Patient With Advanced Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Pretreated With Pemetrexed

The main objective of the trial is to document the efficacy of NGR-hTNF administered at low dose weekly in advanced Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma patients previously treated with a pemetrexed-based chemotherapy regimen.

Currently, there are no regulatory-approved or widely accepted treatment options for patients failing a standard pemetrexed-based chemotherapy regimen.

For this reason, the best supportive care (BSC) alone might be considered as a standard reference for a randomized phase III trial in this setting.

However, single-agent chemotherapeutic agents (such as doxorubicin,gemcitabine, or vinorelbine) with a well-documented safety profile and antitumor activity are also used in clinical practice.

Therefore, the best investigator's choice (BIC) between either best supportive care alone or combined with a few selected single-agent chemotherapy (including doxorubicin, gemcitabine, or vinorelbine) might be considered as an acceptable reference arm as well in this setting.

The current phase III study aims to show a superior efficacy in terms of overall survival duration of NGR-hTNF 0.8 µg/mq weekly plus BIC versus placebo plus BIC in advanced MPM patients progressing after a standard pemetrexed-based chemotherapy.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Age ≥ 18 years
* Histologically or cytological confirmed malignant pleural mesothelioma of any of the following subtype: epithelial, sarcomatoid, mixed, or unknown
* Prior treatment with no more than one systemic pemetrexed-based chemotherapy regimen administered for advanced or metastatic disease. Prior use of a biological agent in combination with a pemetrexed-based regimen and prior administration of intrapleural cytotoxic agents are allowed. Patients who have previously received anthracyclines should not receive doxorubicin
* ECOG Performance Status 0 - 2
* Life expectancy of ≥ 12 weeks
* Adequate baseline bone marrow, hepatic and renal function, defined as follows:

  1. Neutrophils ≥ 1.5 x 109/L; platelets ≥ 100 x 109/L; hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL
  2. Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN
  3. AST and/or ALT ≤ 2.5 x ULN in absence of liver metastasis or ≤ 5 x ULN in presence of liver metastasis
  4. Serum creatinine \< 1.5 x ULN
* Measurable or non-measurable disease according to MPM-modified RECIST criteria
* Patients may have had prior therapy providing the following conditions are met:

  1. Surgery: wash-out period of 14 days
  2. Systemic and radiation anti-tumor therapy: wash-out period of 28 days
* Patients must give written informed consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients must not receive any other investigational agents while on study
* Patients with myocardial infarction within the last six months, unstable angina, New York Heart Association (NYHA) grade II or greater congestive heart failure, or serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication
* Uncontrolled hypertension
* QTc interval (congenital or acquired) \> 450 ms
* History or evidence upon physical examination of CNS disease unless adequately treated (e.g., primary brain tumor, any brain metastasis, seizure not controlled with standard medical therapy, or history of stroke)
* Patients with active or uncontrolled systemic disease/infections or with serious illness or medical conditions, which is incompatible with the protocol
* Known hypersensitivity/allergic reaction to human albumin preparations or to any of the excipients
* Any psychological, familial, sociological or geographical condition potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol
* Pregnancy or lactation