Table 5.

Active and recruiting trials investigating specific molecular therapies in MPM

Agent	Target	Mechanism	Goals of study	Trial ID	Sponsor
Vorinostat	Histone deacetylase inhibitor	Prevents gene transcription by maintaining chromatin condensed	Randomized Phase II: progression after first-line chemo	NCT01353482; withdrawn	Merck
Ganetespib	HSP90 inhibitor	Cell cycle arrest	Phase I–II: combination with chemo	NCT01590160	University College, London/UK
Bortezomib	Proteasome inhibitor	Inhibits NF-κB pathway	Phase II: bortezomib and oxaliplatin after failure of chemo	NCT00996385	Columbia University/USA
ADI-PEG20 (arginine deiminase)	Depletion of arginine	Depletion of extracellular arginine interferes with tumor metabolism while tumor cells frequently down regulate ability to synthesize arginine	Phase II: effect of ADI-PEG 20 alone Phase I: ADI-PEG20 combination with chemo	NCT01279967 NCT02029690	Barts and The London NHS Trust Polaris
Everolimus	Target of rapamycin	Independently interferes with distal steps of EGFR pathway	Phase II: single drug	NCT00770120	NCI
Onconase/ranpirnase		Inhibits NF-κB pathway	Phase III: doxorubicin +/− onconase	NCT00003034; unknown status	NCI
NGR-TNF	Vascular endothelium	Recombinant TNF fused with a peptide recognizing endothelial cell-surface receptors	Phase II: intravenous TNF given Phase III: together with second-line chemo	NCT01358084 NCT01098266	MolMed SpA

Abbreviations: chemo, chemotherapy; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; ID, identification number; MPM, malignant pleural mesothelioma; NCI, National Cancer Institute; NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa-B; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.