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. 2022 Feb 11;20(1):83.
doi: 10.1186/s12967-022-03293-y.

Global research trends on the links between the gut microbiome and cancer: a visualization analysis

Sa'ed H Zyoud  1   2 , Samah W Al-Jabi  3 , Riad Amer  4   5 , Muna Shakhshir  6 , Moyad Shahwan  7 , Ammar A Jairoun  8 , Maha Akkawi  9   10 , Adham Abu Taha  10   11
Affiliations

Global research trends on the links between the gut microbiome and cancer: a visualization analysis

Sa'ed H Zyoud et al. J Transl Med. .

Abstract

Background: Significant links between the microbiota and human health have emerged in the last 20 years. A correlation has recently been demonstrated between changes in the gut microbiota and the development of cancer. This study aimed to use bibliometric analysis of the published gut microbiome and cancer literature to present the research status and summarize the hotspots for frontier studies.

Methods: A literature search for research on the gut microbiome and cancer research from 2001 to 2020 was conducted using the Scopus database on 20 March 2021. VOSviewer software (version 1.6.16) was used to perform the visualization analysis.

Results: From 2001 to 2020, a total of 2061 publications were retrieved. Annual publication output grew from 10 in 2001 to 486 in 2020. The USA had the largest number of publications, making the largest contribution to the field (n = 566, 27.46%). Before 2016, most studies focused on the 'effect of probiotics on cancer'. The latest trends showed that 'microbiota composition and gene expression' and 'host-microbiome interaction in cancer immunotherapy' would be more concerned more widely in the future.

Conclusions: Research on 'microbiota composition and gene expression' and 'host-microbiome interaction in cancer immunotherapy' will continue to be the hotspot. Therefore, this study provides the trend and characteristics of the literature on the gut microbiota and cancer literature, which provided a useful bibliometric analysis for researchers to conduct further research.

Keywords: Cancer; Microbiota; Scopus; VOSviewer; Visualization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Growth trends of publications on the microbiota and cancer from 2001 to 2020
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Network visualization map of international research collaboration among the leading active countries in microbiota and cancer from 2001 to 2020. This visualized map of collaborations was developed when at least 10 publications were placed for each country. There are 35 countries that reach this threshold out of 112 countries active in this field. The size of the node indicates how many publications for that country
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Network visualization map of terms in title/abstract fields of publications related to microbiota and cancer from 2001 to 2020. This visualized map of terms was developed when the minimum-term occurrences were placed at least 50 times. There are 109 terms that reach this threshold out of 34,784 in this field, which were divided into three clusters and colored differently. The size of the node indicates how many publications use that term
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Network visualization map of terms in the title/abstract and their distribution according to the mean frequency of appearance. The blue terms emerged first, followed by the yellow and green terms that appeared later
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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