Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students' Research Output in Five Developing Countries.

Objectives The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the quantity and quality of medical students' research output in Gulf Cooperation Council countries to aid in developing strategies to improve research output. Methods Abstracts presented by medical students in Gulf Cooperation Council countries were subject to analysis. Abstracts that propagated into full-length articles underwent further demographic analysis, in which data regarding the type of study, the field of study, country of origin, mode of presentation, and journal's impact factor were collected. A total of 798 abstracts were surveyed, with 19% (n=155) of the abstracts submitted by Gulf Cooperation Council countries progressing into full-length publications. The average impact factor for Gulf Cooperation Council country publications was found to be 1.85 ± 0.26 (standard error). Countries that recorded the highest conversion rates were, in descending order, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Moreover, basic biomedical and clinical research topics were more likely to be published in comparison with community-oriented and medical education-related topics. Conclusions Effective efforts to encourage more medical student research output in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (with a focus on qualitative analysis) should be promoted in order to achieve publication rates comparable with those reported by developed countries.

Medical Students' Perceptions of the Doctor-Patient Relationship: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia.

Introduction The physician-patient relationship is at the heart of the art of medicine. Patient-centered care is rapidly evolving as the standard of care as well as the optimal vehicle to achieve high-quality healthcare and good clinical outcomes. This study aims to examine the attitudes of pre-clinical (third-year) students from Alfaisal University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) toward the physician-patient relationship. Methods This cross-sectional study took place during the spring 2017 academic year. All third-year students (n=210) were requested to voluntarily complete an online and anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire covered students' demographical characteristics (gender, nationality, and cumulative grade point average) and their response to a previously validated instrument, the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), which explores the attitudes of medical students toward the doctor-patient relationship. Results In total, 132 students participated in the survey (n=132/210) with an overall response rate of 62.9%. Most respondents were female (56.8%), non-Saudi citizens (53.0%), and high achievers (70.5%). Most of the mean scores on the PPOS statements indicated patient-centered attitudes - that is, mean scores were higher than "3". The mean score for the overall PPOS was 4.0 ± 1.5, whereas the mean scores for the sharing and caring domains were 4.2 ± 1.5 and 3.8 ± 1.4, respectively. Univariate correlations between the students' demographics and their mean scores for the sharing domain, caring domain, and overall PPOS showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion The pre-clinical medical students showed favorable patient-centered attitudes. There were no statistically significant differences between students' demographics (gender, nationality, and academic performance) and PPOS scores (sharing domain, caring domain and overall score).

Cancer stem cell as therapeutic target for melanoma treatment.

Human malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive skin tumor that is characterized by its extraordinary heterogeneity, propensity for dissemination to distant organs and resistance to cytotoxic agents. Although chemo- and immune-based therapies have been evaluated in clinical trials, most of these therapeutics do not show significant benefit for patients with advanced disease. Treatment failure in melanoma patients is attributed mainly to the development of tumor heterogeneity resulting from the formation of genetically divergent subpopulations. These subpopulations are composed of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) as a small fraction and non-cancer stem cells that form the majority of the tumor mass. In recent years, CSCs gained more attention and suggested as valuable experimental model system for tumor study. In melanoma, intratumoral heterogeneity, progression and drug resistance result from the unique characteristics of melanoma stem cells (MSCs). These MSCs are characterized by their distinct protein signature and tumor growth-driving pathways, whose activation is mediated by driver mutation-dependent signal. The molecular features of MSCs are either in a causal or consequential relationship to melanoma progression, drug resistance and relapse. Here, we review the current scientific evidence that supports CSC hypothesis and the validity of MSCs-dependent pathways and their key molecules as potential therapeutic target for melanoma treatment.