Global research trends between gut microbiota and lung cancer from 2011 to 2022: A bibliometric and visualization analysis

Abstract

BackgroundAn increasing number of studies have found that the gut microbiota was related to the occurrence and development of lung cancer. Nonetheless, publication trends and research hotspots in this field remain unknown. The study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically identify publication trends and research hotspots in the field of gut microbiota and lung cancer research within a 12-year panorama.MethodsPublications related to the gut microbiota and lung cancer between 1 January 2011 and 25 October 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. The online analytic tool of the WoSCC was used to analyze various bibliometric parameters. The bibliometrics website, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer were used to identify research trends and hotspots.ResultsA total of 375 publications related to the gut microbiota and lung cancer were extracted from WoSCC and identified for analysis. The number of annual publications has grown rapidly since 2018 and reached a peak in 2022. China was the most prolific country in this field, with 120 publications, followed by the United States (114), with the highest H-index of 31. Additionally, France ranked the highest with an average of 133 citations, while the leading institution and journal were the Unicancer and the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, respectively. Interestingly, Routy Bertrand was the most prolific author and also the most cited author in terms of H-index and citations. Reference and keyword burst detection indicated that the research hotspots mainly included 1) the gut microbiota directly affects the efficacy of immunotherapy for lung cancer, 2) the application of different gut bacteria on lung cancer, and 3) the mechanism of the gut microbiota on lung cancer.ConclusionThe findings of this study revealed the general publication trends and evolving research hotspots in the field of gut microbiota and lung cancer at a global level. The research hotspots focused on the clinical application of the gut microbiota combined with immunotherapy in lung cancer and its mechanism. The findings of this study provide new perspectives on the field, which may shed light on a beneficial impact on further etiological studies, diagnosis, and treatment for lung cancer.

Role of the gut microbiota in tumorigenesis and treatment

“…The involvement of the gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of various types of cancer, including BC 46 , LC 65 and CRC 77 , has been confirmed in clinical and preclinical studies. However, the clinical lineups in some studies had a limited sample size 46 , 67 .…”

“…The morphological, etiological, and molecular characteristics of LC have been extensively investigated. In addition to genetic and environmental factors, the gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the development of LC 65 . Qin et al discovered that, compared with healthy individuals, LC patients exhibit reduced bacterial diversity and that as LC progresses, the levels of SCFAs and anti-inflammatory bacteria decrease; additionally, certain pathogenic bacteria associated with inflammation or tumor promotion were found to be more prevalent among LC patients 66 .…”

Non-small cell lung cancer and metabolism research from 2013 to 2023: a visual analysis and bibliometric study

“…Despite some methodological limitations, the approach is used to visually quantify academic achievements and their impact in many fields. To date, several bibliometric studies related to LC have been published, mainly on immunotherapy ( 15 , 16 ), radiotherapy ( 17 ), gut microbiota ( 18 ), postoperative analgesia ( 19 ), anti-programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (anti-PD-1/PD-L1) therapy ( 20 ), machine learning in NSCLC radiotherapy ( 21 ), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( 22 ). However, no bibliometric studies have been published in the NSCLC-Met field.…”

Bibliometric analysis of global research trends between gut microbiota and pancreatic cancer: from 2004 to 2023

“…The benefit of this approach is that, unlike other major review methodologies, it enables a thorough assessment of an entire subject with thousands of papers ( Donthu et al, 2021 ). Several researchers have analyzed issues pertaining to the connection between cancer and GM using bibliometrics, such as the connection between colorectal cancer and GM ( Wu et al, 2023 ), cancer immunotherapy and GM ( Yang et al, 2022 ), as well as lung cancer and GM ( Chen et al, 2023 ). In the past two decades, more and more clinical and animal studies between PC and GM have started to emerge ( Yu et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2023 ; Takaori et al, 2023 ).…”