Global trends and research hotspots in pulsed electric field ablation for liver cancer treatment.

BACKGROUND

Pulsed electric field (PEF) ablation is a promising nonthermal tumor treatment for liver cancer, recognized for its ability to induce immune responses. However, the field has lacked a comprehensive bibliometric evaluation. This study aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the research landscape.

METHODS

In total, 691 English-language articles on PEF-based liver cancer therapy, published between 1989 and 2025, were identified from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Bibliometric tools, including VOSviewer, CiteSpace, Scimago Graphica, and Bibliometrix, were applied to perform coauthorship, cocitation, and keyword cooccurrence analyses, focusing on contributions from countries, institutions, authors, and journals.

RESULTS

Research on PEF therapy in liver cancer has grown steadily, showing an annual increase of 9.7%. The United States and China were the most influential contributors, with the former leading in both total publications and citations. Major contributing institutions included Zhejiang University, Zhongshan University, and Northwestern University, with Leen Edward, Nuccitelli Richard, and Davalos Rafael V. the most frequently cocited authors. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology was the most productive journal in the field. Radiology showed the highest total link strength in cocitation analysis. Co-occurrence analyses of keywords and cocited references highlighted the tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy as emerging research priorities.

CONCLUSIONS

PEF therapy for liver cancer is advancing rapidly and holds strong clinical promise. Future research will likely focus on the tumor microenvironment, immune mechanisms, and field parameter optimization. Strengthened international collaboration is essential to foster innovation and expand clinical applications.