A therapeutic mRNA vaccine shows good results against melanoma: 42% lower risk of recurrence or death

Il est aussi testé contre les cancers du poumon, de la vessie et du rein.

Être in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.

Le 23 octobre, franceinfo a rapporté que le premier vaccin thérapeutique à ARN messager contre le cancer donnait de bons résultats dans un essai de phase 3 sur le mélanome.

The passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.

À la date de l’article du 23, elles n’étaient pas encore publiées et les chiffres reposaient sur des annonces préliminaires.

The imparfait describes states, background, habits and actions in progress in the past (il était, elle avait, ils pensaient). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, and add -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. If the passé composé gives “the event itself”, the imparfait paints “the situation at the time”.

Ce vaccin est fabriqué à partir de la tumeur de chaque patient et ciblé sur ses mutations spécifiques, afin d’aider le système immunitaire à reconnaître et à détruire les cellules cancéreuses.

The passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).

Il ne s’agit pas d’un conseil médical.

A pronominal verb is used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) before the verb. It can mean “do to oneself”, “be done” or “do to each other”. In the news, se traduire (to result in), se tenir (to take place), s’agir de (to be a matter of) and se diffuser (to spread) are frequent. The pronoun changes with the subject (il se tient / ils se tiennent / je me souviens).

À la date de l’article du 23, elles n’étaient pas encore publiées et les chiffres reposaient sur des annonces préliminaires.

Normally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.

Selon franceinfo, le « premier vaccin thérapeutique à ARN messager contre le cancer » donne de bons résultats dans un essai de phase 3 sur le mélanome.

Selon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.

Il ne s’agit pas d’un conseil médical.

It explains what something is about: “it is a matter of…”. The il is not a particular man but a formal subject of this construction. The negative il ne s’agit pas de means “this is not about…”.

Le 23 octobre, franceinfo a rapporté que le premier vaccin thérapeutique à ARN messager contre le cancer donnait de bons résultats dans un essai de phase 3 sur le mélanome.

Le 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.

Le témoignage d’un patient de 78 ans sans récidive depuis trois ans est un cas individuel, non représentatif.

Dès means “as early as” or “as soon as”, and à partir de means “from … onwards”. Depuis basically shows a state or period continuing from a point in time. All deal with a start, but they are not used the same way.

franceinfoによると、がんに対する「初めての治療用mRNAワクチン」が、メラノーマ（悪性黒色腫）の第3相試験で、よい結果を出しました。

As in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.

学術雑誌に載った論文があるかどうかや、薬としての承認の予定は、記事に書かれていません。

予定 is a plan, 見込み a forecast and 方針 a course of action or intention. None of them asserts that something has already been carried out. Note the difference from expressions such as “決まりました”.

78歳の患者が、3年間、再発していないという話も出ていますが、1人の経験で、全体を表すものではありません。

They negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.

franceinfoは、23日、がんに対する初めての治療用mRNAワクチンが、皮膚がんのメラノーマの第3相試験で、よい結果を出したと伝えました。

In “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.

パリ近郊のギュスターヴ・ルシーのカロリーヌ・ロベール医師が、試験に患者を入れた、と伝えられています。

と takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.

その患者の腫瘍に特有の、遺伝子の変化を狙って、免疫が、がん細胞を見分けて、こわすのを助けます。

The て-form links actions in a series, in order or as a reason. In “確認して、出発する” the relation is judged from the content. In “〜ている” it can show an action in progress or a continuing state.