NGR-hTNF as second-line treatment in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

7076 Background: NGR-hTNF exploits the asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) peptide for selectively targeting tumor necrosis factor (TNF) to cancer endothelial cells. Tumor hypervascularity is an independent predictor of poor overall survival (OS) in MPM patients (pts). Methods: We report long-term results of a phase II trial that assessed NGR-hTNF in MPM pts with performance status (PS) ≤ 2 and radiologic progressive disease (PD) after a pemetrexed-based regimen. NGR-hTNF was given at 0.8 µg/m2 every 3 weeks (q3w) in 43 pts and weekly (q1w) in 14 pts. Primary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS), with restaging done q6w by MPM-modified RECIST criteria, while secondary aims included disease control (DC) rate and OS. We also tested the impact on outcome of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at baseline (median 3; interquartile range 2-5). Median follow-up was 32.5 months (95% CI 27.5-37.5). Results: Baseline characteristics were (n=57): median age 57 years; M/F 35/22; PS 0/1-2 31/26; EORTC score goo...