Global research trends in radiotherapy for breast cancer: a systematic bibliometric analysis.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women. Radiotherapy (RT) is an important adjunctive therapy for breast cancer, but the current international research trend of RT in breast cancer treatment and management is unclear. This bibliometric analysis was conducted to investigate the current trends and hot topics in this area.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC; Clarivate) database was searched, VOSviewer 1.6.18 and CiteSpace 6.1.R2 software were employed for the quantitative and qualitative analysis.

RESULTS

12,268 publications were included in this bibliometric analysis. There was an increasing trend of publications and international collaborations in the topic. The United States and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center were the most productive countries and institutions, respectively. The analysis of journals showed researches focused on both basic and clinical medicine on breast cancer RT. Park Won published the most papers and Fisher B had the most co-citations. The most co-cited paper was published in the Lancet. Survival, risk, chemotherapy, mastectomy, and surgery were regarded as current research hotspots through the analysis of keywords.

CONCLUSION

Through quantitative and qualitative bibliometric analyses, this study provides insights into the research trends and potential research hotspots on breast cancer RT.