The international and domestic research trends of targeted therapy in bladder cancer: a bibliometric analysis of the past three decades.

INTRODUCTION: With the rapid development of molecular biotechnology and in-depth exploration of bladder cancer (BC) oncogenic mechanisms, targeted therapy has emerged as a pivotal treatment modality for BC patients. This study employed bibliometric methods to analyze the research status and development trends of targeted therapy in BC both domestically and internationally, aiming to identify research hotspots and provide a reference for research layout in this area.

METHODS: A systematic search was conducted across renowned international and domestic databases, including Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), PubMed, Wanfang Database, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The search period was limited to 1994-2024, with search terms including "bladder cancer", "targeted therapy", and their related derivatives. After screening, 912 English publications and 328 Chinese publications were included. WPS Excel (v12.1.0) was used to visualize trends in annual publication volume, and CiteSpace (v6.3.R1) was employed for a visual analysis of countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, cited articles, and keywords related to the included publications.

RESULTS: In the field of targeted therapy in BC, the annual publication volume has generally shown an upward trend over the past three decades for both English and Chinese publications, with a faster growth rate observed in English publications. For English publications, the most productive countries/regions, institutions, authors, and journals were the USA, University of Texas System, Dinney CPN, and Urologic Oncology-Seminars and Original Investigations, respectively. The most cited article was "Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma" published in Nature. A cluster analysis of keywords revealed research hotspots such as "phase-ii trial", "cell line", and "EGF receptor". For Chinese publications, the most productive institutions, authors, and journals were the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Wang JS, and Chinese Journal of Urology, respectively. The most cited article was "Advances in the Treatment of High-Risk Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer" published in Shandong Medical Journal. The cluster analysis of keywords identified research hotspots including "migration", "cell proliferation", and "drug resistance".

DISCUSSION: Currently, Europe and America dominate the field of targeted therapy in BC. China can leverage its advantage in terms of patient population size to strengthen domestic and international collaborations, thereby enhancing its research influence in this field. Global research hotspots reveal the translational process of targeted therapy in BC from bench to bedside. Future research in this field will focus on drug management of targeted therapy for metastatic BC and overcoming drug resistance to targeted therapy.