Two Malaysian medical students were invited to take part in a poster discussion at the first European Lung Cancer Conference held recently in Geneva, Switzerland.

The conference, jointly organised by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the European Society for Medical Oncology (Esmo) attracted more than 1,200 medical specialists from all over the world.

The scientific meeting was approved by the Accreditation Council for Oncology in Europe.

Its main objective was to advance the quality of lung cancer treatment and identify ways to enhance the chances of patient survival.

The Malaysian students – Narentharen Selvarajah and Shanthiny Mohan – are third-year undergrads at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), on a twinning programme with Penang Medical College (PMC) in Malaysia.

Narentharen and Shanthiny’s research project was accepted for a poster discussion at the first European Lung Cancer Conference.

Both are government-sponsored students.

Their research project, entitled “Profiling Smoking Behaviour in Patients Diagnosed with Cancer”, was conducted at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, last summer and given a high score.

Shanthiny was then awarded a travel grant by Esmo whilst Narentharen won a travel award from the Irish Cancer Society.

The abstract for the research project has been published in the First European Lung Cancer Conference, a supplement to the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

“It is a remarkable achievement to have an abstract accepted at an international scientific conference while still a medical student,' said PMC dean and foundation professor of Medicine, Prof Amir S. Khir.

“This prestigious award and international recognition for our Malaysian medical students is something we can be proud off,” he added.

The two medical undergrads attributed their success to good teamwork and cooperation.

They also thanked their parents for offering constructive criticism and for motivating and supporting them.