Visual analysis of global research output of lymphedema based on bibliometrics

Abstract

Background: Globally, several generations of doctors in the field of lymphedema have created numerous publications. To date, no bibliometric analysis has been performed specifically on these publications. For the further promotion of research on lymphedema and to align with the international research frontiers, it is essential to understand the current state of Lymphedema research output.

Objective: This study aims to statistically and visually analyze the characteristics of publications output, distribution of contributions and development process of lymphedema, enriching the knowledge base of Lymphedema, and then seek potential research topics and collaborators.

Methods: Based on the Web of Science core collection database, we firstly analyzed the quantity and quality of publications in the field of lymphedema, secondly profiled the publishing groups in terms of country, institution, author's publication and cooperation network, and finally sorted out and summarized the hot topics of research.

Results: A total of 8569 papers were retrieved from 1900-2021. The top4 journals with the most publications were LYMPHOLOGY, LYMPHATIC RESEARCH AND BIOLOGY, PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY and ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY. The top 4 countries with the most publications were USA, Japan, UK, and China. The United States dominates the total number of publications and the international cooperation network. The most productive research institution is Harvard University, and the research institution with the most collaborating institutions is Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Mortimer, Peter S contributes the most research in this field. The research achievements of Japanese scholars in this field are of great significance. The top 5 ranked keywords are "Breast Cancer", "Health-Related Quality Of Life", "Lymphscintigraphy", "Lymphovenous Anastomosis", and "Lymphangiogenesis".

Conclusion: More and more scholars are devoted to the research of cancer-related Lymphedema. It is foreseeable that breast cancer-related lymphedema and lymphangiogenesis will remain a focus of future research. Advances in Lymphatic vessel imaging and the development of lymphatic microsurgery will further play a role in the clinical workup of lymphedema. Meanwhile, This study can help researchers identify potential collaborators and partner institutions and contribute to further research.

Keywords: bibliometrics; breast cancer; cancer-related lymphedema; data visualization; lymphedema.

Figure 1

The detailed integrated workflow.

Figure 2

Lymphedema research papers by document type percentage.

Figure 3

The publication volume and cited frequency on the topic of lymphedema. (A) The publication volume of lymphedema from 1900 to 2021. (B) The publication volume of lymphedema from 1990 to 2021.

Figure 4

The research output characteristics of the top 100 highly cited publications. (A) The time distribution of top 100 highly cited publications. (B) The topic categories of top 100 highly cited publications. (C) The journal distribution of top 100 highly cited publications.

Figure 5

The distribution of publication output by countries. (A) The spatial distribution of top 20 most productive countries producing lymphedema publications. (B) The top 20 citing countries on lymphedema. (C) The cooperation network of co-publication of lymphedema publications among selected countries. (D) Temporal distribution of top 30 most productive countries of lymphedema publication.

Figure 6

The distribution of publication output by institutions. (A) The top 20 most-productive institutions of lymphedema publications. (B) The co-authorship network of lymphedema publications among principal research institutions. (C) The temporal distribution of top 30 most-productive institutions of lymphedema publications.

Figure 7

The distribution of publication output by authors. (A) The temporal distribution of top 30 most-productive authors of lymphedema publication. (B) The co-author networks of lymphedema publications.

Figure 8

The cluster network based on Lymphedema high-frequency keywords (≥10 times). Cluster1 (Blue circle): research on the etiology of cancer-related Lymphedema; Cluster 2 (Red circle): lymphatic-vessel-related research, including the main terms of lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic system imaging; Cluster 3 (Yellow circle): Lymphedema volume measurement; Clusters 4 (Green circle): research on non-surgical treatment and prognosis of Lymphedema; and Clusters 5 (Purple circle): studies on the surgical treatment of Lymphedema.

Figure 9

The Characteristics of the top-ranked representative keywords in the 5 clustered topics. (A) The annual number of new publications of the top-ranked representative keywords in the 5 clustered topics. between 1900 and 2021. (B) The distribution of the number of top-ranked representative keywords in the 5 clustered topics among the top 10 countries producing lymphedema publications.

Figure 10

The historical progress of Lymphatic-vessel imaging.

Figure 11

The historical progress of the volume measurement of lymphedema.

Figure 12

The development history of surgical and non-operative treatment of lymphedema. (A) The development history of non-operative treatment of lymphedema. (B) The development history of surgical treatment of lymphedema.