Dr. Simona Ferrini

Dr. Simona Ferrini is San Marino's foremost medical oncologist, holding a distinguished joint appointment at the Ospedale di Stato della Repubblica di San Marino — the Republic's national hospital — and the Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) in Meldola, Italy, which carries the IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico) designation as a nationally recognised Italian cancer research institute. With over 20 years of experience in medical oncology, Dr. Ferrini specialises in breast cancer, gastrointestinal malignancies, and palliative oncology care.

Dr. Ferrini's dual appointment represents the characteristic model of oncological care in San Marino: the small Republic, surrounded entirely by Italian territory, relies on seamless integration with the Italian healthcare system — particularly the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regional cancer networks — to provide its citizens with access to clinical trials, specialised radiotherapy, surgical oncology, and advanced diagnostic capabilities that cannot be independently maintained within a population of 34,000 people. IRST Meldola is one of Italy's most respected cancer research institutions, specialising particularly in breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, and haematological malignancies, and Dr. Ferrini's appointment there gives San Marino's cancer patients direct access to IRST's clinical trial portfolio and multidisciplinary expertise.

Dr. Ferrini trained at the Università degli Studi di Bologna and completed her medical oncology fellowship at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) in Milan — one of Europe's foremost comprehensive cancer centres — before returning to the Romagna region to take up her dual appointment at the San Marino state hospital and IRST Meldola. Her commitment to integrating the latest evidence-based oncological treatments — including CDK4/6 inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and VEGF-directed therapies — into personalised patient care plans is central to her clinical philosophy.

Dr. Ferrini also leads the San Marino cancer registry collaboration, working with the IRST Meldola and the Italian National Cancer Registry (AIRTUM) to capture cancer incidence, staging, and outcome data for the San Marino population, contributing to European cancer epidemiology databases.

Dr. Ferrini completed her medical degree at the Università degli Studi di Bologna, Faculty of Medicine, graduating with distinction. She undertook her medical oncology specialty residency at the Policlinico Sant'Orsola-Malpighi in Bologna, receiving comprehensive training in solid tumour oncology, haematological malignancies, and oncological emergencies. She then completed a specialist medical oncology fellowship at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) in Milan — Italy's national tumours institute and one of Europe's leading comprehensive cancer centres — focusing on breast cancer management and translational research. She holds the Fellow of the European Society for Medical Oncology (FESMO) designation, awarded by ESMO in recognition of her oncological expertise and scientific contributions. She also holds specialist certification in medical oncology from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR). She maintains active involvement in ESMO, AIOM, and IRST Meldola's continuing medical education programme, ensuring her practice reflects the latest advances in targeted and immunotherapy-based cancer treatment.

Dr. Ferrini's oncology practice is structured around the systemic treatment of solid tumours with a focus on breast cancer and gastrointestinal malignancies. In breast cancer — her primary subspecialty — she manages all molecular subtypes (hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative) across the full disease course: neoadjuvant treatment before surgery, adjuvant treatment after surgery, and systemic treatment for metastatic disease. Her expertise encompasses endocrine therapy, CDK4/6 inhibitors (palbociclib, ribociclib, abemaciclib), HER2-targeted antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (trastuzumab, pertuzumab, T-DM1, trastuzumab deruxtecan), PARP inhibitors, and immune checkpoint inhibitors for triple-negative disease.

For gastrointestinal malignancies — including colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer — Dr. Ferrini manages chemotherapy-based regimens (FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, CAPOX), targeted anti-VEGF therapies (bevacizumab, ramucirumab), anti-EGFR therapies (cetuximab, panitumumab) for RAS/BRAF wild-type colorectal cancer, and immune checkpoint inhibitors for MSI-high tumours.

Dr. Ferrini also runs a palliative oncology service at the San Marino state hospital, integrating early specialist palliative care alongside active oncological treatment, focused on symptom control, psychological support, and advance care planning. She coordinates clinical trial referrals to IRST Meldola for eligible San Marino patients and manages the San Marino component of AIOM and ESMO cooperative group studies.

Dr. Ferrini has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in oncology journals including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, and the European Journal of Cancer. Her research is focused on cross-border oncology outcomes between San Marino and Italy, cancer registry collaboration with IRST Meldola and the Italian Romagna regional cancer network, and the clinical management of breast and gastrointestinal cancers in small-country healthcare systems. She has contributed San Marino-specific cancer incidence and survival data to AIRTUM (Associazione Italiana dei Registri Tumori) and EUROCARE European cancer survival studies, providing unique insights into cancer outcomes in a microstate population with close healthcare integration with a larger neighbouring country. Her breast cancer research at INT Milan and IRST Meldola has contributed to publications on neoadjuvant therapy response prediction and HER2-targeted therapy outcomes. She received the IRST Meldola Research Collaboration Prize for her sustained contributions to the institute's scientific programme and cross-border research agenda.

Dr. Ferrini provides oncology services to San Marino residents and Italian citizens accessing care under the bilateral Italian-San Marino health agreement, as well as to EU citizens from other member states under applicable cross-border healthcare directives. Non-EU international patients are accommodated as private patients at both the San Marino state hospital and IRST Meldola. Consultations are conducted in Italian and English. For patients seeking specialist oncology opinions — including second opinions on breast cancer or gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis, staging, and treatment planning — Dr. Ferrini can provide consultations with access to IRST Meldola's comprehensive diagnostic and tumour board resources. She coordinates clinical trial referrals to IRST for international patients who may benefit from access to experimental therapies not available outside of Italy. Post-treatment follow-up can be coordinated with patients' home country oncologists through comprehensive discharge documentation.

Dr. Ferrini has received the Società Sammarinese di Medicina (SSM) Clinical Award for her leadership of oncology services in the Republic of San Marino and her establishment of formal cancer registry collaboration with the Italian national cancer research network. She received the AIOM Recognition Award from the Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica for her contributions to Italian oncology science and to improving cancer care coordination at the regional level. The IRST Meldola IRCCS presented her with the Research Collaboration Prize for her sustained cross-border cancer research contributions. She holds the Fellow of the European Society for Medical Oncology (FESMO) designation and has been invited to present at ESMO, AIOM, and ASCO annual meetings. She serves as the national coordinator for San Marino in ESMO and AIOM cooperative group clinical trials.