Alzheimer's disease-cancer research (inception to 2025): trends, themes, translational pathways, and insights from highly cited studies.

Alzheimer's disease-cancer research (ADCR) has gained increasing attention due to paradoxical epidemiological associations and shared yet oppositely regulated biological mechanisms; however, the field lacks an integrated synthesis of its intellectual and thematic structure. This study comprehensively mapped the longitudinal evolution, collaboration patterns, and conceptual architecture of ADCR. Scopus-indexed articles published between 1968 and 2025 were retrieved using a structured TITLE-ABS-KEY search strategy. Bibliometric indicators were analyzed using the Bibliometrix R package (Biblioshiny), and network, density, overlay, and thematic visualizations were generated using VOSviewer. Analyses included productivity trends, citation impact, collaboration networks, institutional and author performance, Bradford's and Lotka's laws, keyword co-occurrence, thematic evolution, and strategic mapping. The dataset comprised 7460 publications, with an annual growth rate of 11.98% and 24.79% international collaboration. Scientific output and citation impact were dominated by North America, Europe, and East Asia, led by the USA (2418 documents; 121,747 citations) and China (1406 documents; 40,410 citations). Thematically, Alzheimer's disease-centered neuroinflammatory mechanisms emerged as the principal motor theme, while cancer persisted as a foundational but less cohesive domain. Temporal analyses indicated a transition from early mechanistic fragmentation to consolidated interdisciplinary research, accompanied by the recent rise of molecular docking, machine learning, and network pharmacology. Collectively, ADCR is evolving into a mature, integrative field characterized by methodological innovation and growing translational convergence between neurodegeneration and oncology.