Alfredo De Renzis, 71, a physician who lives in Molise, is the first Italian patient undergoing the administration of the first mRna technology vaccine (the same one used against Covid-19) to fight melanoma, which is the most dreaded skin cancer. The vaccine, which has been administered at the IRCCS Pascale Tumors Institute in Naples, has reached phase III trials, the last to pass before approval by regulatory agencies. However, unlike the one used in the pandemic, the vaccine is not preventive but curative: aimed at patients who have already had surgery or are at high risk, its purpose is to stimulate the patient's immune system to recognize and effectively attack the cancer. "I immediately agreed to be vaccinated," the patient said, "I felt it was my duty in my role as a doctor to make a contribution to research. I was never afraid". It will be a few years before we have results from this final phase of the study, but the preliminary phase II efficacy data are exciting.
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