Melanoma, a short film with Gigi and Ross to inform with irony
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A story that speaks of friendship and hope through the smiles of two comic actors who, thanks to their notoriety and irony, manage to reach people’s hearts to bring a message: today, with immunotherapy, half of patients with chronic melanoma the illness. This is precisely the fulcrum of the short film “Amici per la pelle” made by the Melanoma Foundation and the “Pascale” Cancer Institute of Naples with the actors Gigi & Ross and presented today in Rome. In 2020, almost 14,900 new cases of melanoma were estimated in Italy.
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A true story
The actors Gigi & Ross in the film production become Tony and Flavio, two people affected by metastatic melanoma and treated with immunoncology. The ending is only half happy: one survives, the other can’t. The short, born from an idea of the oncologist Paolo Ascierto, reflects what happens in reality. 50% of people affected by this metastatic skin cancer respond to immunoncology and manage to make the disease chronic. The goal of the research is to reach the other half that still “escapes” the mechanism of action of innovative therapies. And, through this short film, we try to make all citizens understand the progress achieved in the treatment of melanoma and the challenges still to be faced. “In recent years, the Melanoma Foundation has used various tools, from calendars, videos, comics to social media, to raise awareness among the largest number of citizens – he explains Paolo Ascierto, president of the Melanoma Foundation and director of the Melanoma Oncology, Oncological Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapies Unit of the ‘Pascale’ Institute of Naples. ” With the short film, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of reaching the theaters of national film festivals and on the main streaming platforms, in order to reach an even wider audience ”.
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That 50% of patients still to be saved
The short film, produced by Bronx Film with the unconditional contribution of Bristol Myers Squibb, is dedicated to Gabriele Murgolo, a 17-year-old boy, originally from Taranto, who died of metastatic melanoma in 2020 and who belongs to the 50% of patients who for science is still a failure. “In the film – continues Ascierto – the state of the art of research on melanoma is imprinted, which in a decade has made great strides. Before immunotherapy, the life expectancy of patients with metastatic disease was approximately 6 months and less than 10% were alive at 5 years. Today the history of the disease has changed. In the short film, we send a positive message to citizens, without hiding the difficulties of the treatment path. In fact, we also show the side effects of the therapies, which we are able to manage ensuring a good quality of life “.
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Advances possible thanks to immunotherapy
Thanks to the combination of immunoncological molecules, today about 50% of patients manage to make melanoma chronic and, in some cases, it is possible to speak of a cure. “In particular – underlines Ascierto – the international phase III study CheckMate-067, on the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab in the first line in metastatic melanoma, showed that almost half of the patients (48%) are alive at 7 and a half years. The dual immunotherapy also shows a significant ‘memory effect’: its effectiveness is maintained in the long term, even after the end of treatment. The immediate challenge is to increase the efficacy of therapies to overcome resistance to immunoncology, which prevents about half of patients from benefiting from it. ‘Amici per la pelle’ is dedicated to Gabriele and to all the patients who did not make it ”.
‘Difficult’ patients
Almost 170,000 citizens (169,900) live in our country after the discovery of melanoma. The 5-year survival from diagnosis is very high, equal to 91% in women and 88% in men. “Immunoncology represents the standard of care for melanoma not only in the metastatic phase, but also in the resected stage III and IV, that is, in a phase in which the disease has been completely removed”, Ascierto declares. Treating patients at this stage increases the chance of avoiding a recurrence and, therefore, potentially healing the person. If detected early and eliminated with proper surgical excision during the initial phase, melanoma is completely curable. Unfortunately, some of the diagnoses already occur at an advanced stage or progressively evolve at this stage. The rules of prevention to follow are simple: you must not expose yourself to the sun in the central hours of the day, the protective cream must always be applied, even in winter in the mountains, and sun lamps must be absolutely avoided. And every year it is necessary to undergo the control of moles by the dermatologist ”.
The emotion of ‘real’ actors and extras
The short film, which lasts just over ten minutes, is directed by Angela Bevilacqua and written by Chiara Macor. The artistic director is Romano Montesarchio. Among the actors, another protagonist of “Made in Sud”, Alessandro Bolide. The extras are all “real” nurses and the same short film was made in the clinics of the Cancer Institute of Naples and in the Ascalesi hospital unit, which has been merged with the cancer center for two years. “The making of ‘Amici per la pelle’ was an exciting experience – they say Gigi And Ross. It’s a little story about friendship, hope and love. Three fundamental feelings destined to live forever. Prevention and research are the weapons to defeat cancer. We have been collaborating with the Melanoma Foundation for some time, with this initiative we want to make everyone understand the central role of scientific research, which has allowed us to achieve truly important results in a few years. Everyone must be aware of this and support the work of scientists ”.
Useful information
To underline the value and the need to provide information is also Monica Forchetta, President of APaIM (Associazione Pazienti Italia Melanoma): “As shown in the short film, the diagnosis of cancer represents a moment of rupture between the before and after, in which the whole family is involved. It is important that patients have confidence in science, clinicians and research to navigate the path of care. More information is needed on cancer and its risk factors. Above all it is necessary to raise the level of awareness and sensitize the youngest, who still too often resort to tanning lamps or do not use sunscreen at the sea or in the mountains. Communication with all the tools, including the short film, is also essential for patients who continually need to be updated on the disease “.
The long road to research
Given the improvements made possible today by scientific innovation, continuing to do laboratory research is crucial. “Studies on resistance mechanisms are needed and the key to discovering them lies in the tumor microenvironment, that is, the environment in which diseased cells live,” says Ascierto. The right sequence of therapies must also be analyzed, objective of the international SECOMBIT study, coordinated by ‘Pascale’. 209 people from 30 centers in 10 European countries were enrolled. SECOMBIT compared three options and showed that the best sequence is to start with dual immunotherapy to continue with targeted therapy after any disease progression. With this approach, an overall survival of 63% at 4 years was achieved ”.
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