Global status of research on radiotherapy for rectal cancer: A bibliometric and visual analysis

Abstract

Radiotherapy for rectal cancer has received increasing research attention in recent years; however, no bibliometric assessment has been conducted on the progress of research in this field. This study aimed to visualize the research evolution and emerging research hotspots in the field of rectal cancer radiotherapy using bibliometric methods. Data were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database, including countries, institutions, authors, keywords, and co-citations of references, and the CiteSpace software was used for bibliometric analysis. A total of 5,372 publications on radiotherapy for rectal cancer, published between January 2000 and January 2022, were included. An increasing trend in the number of published articles was observed. There is an overall upward trend in the number of publications published, with the US publishing the most in this field, followed by China and the Netherlands. Italian writer Vincenzo Valentini and German writer R. Sauer ranked first in terms of published articles and co-cited authors, respectively. Literature co-citation and keyword co-occurrence analyses showed that early studies focused on topics such as preoperative radiotherapy, combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and total mesorectal excision. In recent years, gradually increasing attention has been paid to short-course radiotherapy, x-ray brachytherapy, and stereotactic systemic radiotherapy. Burst analysis suggested that magnetic resonance (MR)-guided neoadjuvant radiotherapy studies, mechanistic studies, and clinical trials may emerge as new research hotspots. Rectal cancer radiotherapy has been widely studied and the research hotspots have considerably changed in recent years. Future research hotspots may include MR-guided neoadjuvant radiotherapy studies, mechanistic studies, and clinical trials.

Keywords: CiteSpace; WoSCC; bibliometrics; radiotherapy; rectal cancer.

Figure 1

Polynomial curve fitting of publication growth in the field of radiotherapy for rectal cancer.

Figure 2

Analysis of countries engaged in research on radiotherapy for rectal cancer. (A) Distribution of countries in terms of publications. (B) Top 10 most productive countries. (C) Top 15 countries in publishing research related to radiation therapy for rectal cancer with burst period after 2000. (D) Network diagram showing country links (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top50 per slice; Network: N = 130, E = 140; Density: 0.0167; Largest CC:113; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder).

Figure 3

Analysis of institutions involved in research on radiotherapy for rectal cancer. (A) Network diagram showing institution links (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top10 per slice; Network: N = 297, E = 507; Density: 0.0115; Largest CC:138; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder). (B) Top 15 institutions in publishing research related to radiation therapy for rectal cancer with burst period after 2000.

Figure 4

Analysis of authors and co-cited authors involved in research on radiotherapy for rectal cancer. (A) Network diagram showing author links (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top30 per slice; Network: N = 1617, E = 5,185; Density: 0.004; Largest CC:642; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: None). (B) Network diagram showing co-cited author links (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top30 per slice; Network: N = 126, E = 127; Density: 0.0161; Largest CC:113; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder).

Figure 5

Top 15 articles related to radiation therapy for rectal cancer with burst period after 2000.

Figure 6

Analysis of the cited articles. (A) Knowledge map of the cited literature (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top30 per slice; Network: N = 404, E = 498; Density: 0.0061; Largest CC:366; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder; Modularity Q:0.8921; Weighted Mean Silhouette S:0.9682). (B) Time axis map of the cited literature (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top30 per slice; Network: N = 404, E = 498; Density: 0.0061; Largest CC:366; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder; Modularity Q:0.8921; Weighted Mean Silhouette S:0.9682).

Figure 7

CiteSpace visualization map of the keyword clustering analysis (Timespan: 2000–2022; Slice Length: 1; Selection Criteria: Top30 per slice; Network: N = 114, E = 128; Density: 0.0199; Largest CC:112; Nodes Labeled:1.0%; Pruning: Pathfinder; Modularity Q:0.8017; Weighted Mean Silhouette S:0.9519).

Figure 8

Top 15 keywords related to radiation therapy for rectal cancer with burst period after 2000.