Immunotherapy research in the Arab world: A bibliometric analysis

Immunotherapy is the concept of leveraging the immune system to treat diseases. Developing countries, including the Arab countries, have continued to lag in terms of biomedical research compared to other nations for several decades. Immunotherapy has been used in several fields, including cancer, transplantation, and vaccination. This article examined the activity and trend of immunotherapy research in the Arab world between 2000 and 2024.

The number of immunotherapy-related articles published by each Arab country, was assessed using the PubMed database between 2000 and 2024. Numbers were normalized with respect to each country's average population and average Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Arab countries contributed to 1.73 % of total immunotherapy papers. The number of immunotherapy publications has grown from 2000 to 2022, then decreased in the past 2 years. In terms of publications per million persons, Qatar ranked first (130.08 per million persons), while in terms of publications per national GDP, Lebanon ranked first (11.09 per billion US dollars). MeSH keywords VOSviewer showed a focus on vaccination, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, and transplantation conditioning in the Arab world.

This bibliometric analysis provides insight into the actualities and trends of immunotherapy research in the Arab world. This offers a general background for scientists, clinicians, funders, and decision-makers. Addressing the barriers that face immunotherapy research remains a cornerstone in the plan to improve the Arab world's output and contribution to this field.