Research landscape and frontiers of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-associated hepatocellular carcinoma: a bibliometric and visual analysis

Abstract

Background: Due to the widespread prevalence of caloric excess and sedentary behavior on a global scale, there is a growing body of epidemiological evidence indicating that non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has rapidly become a leading aetiology underlying of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In light of the escalating incidence of NASH-associated HCC (NASH-HCC), it is imperative to mitigate the impending burden. While there has been an increase in global awareness regarding this issue, it has yet to be examined from a bibliometric standpoint. Therefore, this study seeks to provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to characterize the evolution of this field. Method: The present study utilized the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) to identify publications pertaining to NASH-HCC over the past 2 decades. Employing Vosviewer 1.6.19, CiteSpace 6.2.R2, and the Analysis Platform of Bibliometrics, the study conducted an analysis of various dimensions including the quantity of publications, countries, institutions, journals, authors, co-references, keywords, and trend topics in this field. Results: A comprehensive analysis of 3,679 publications pertaining to NASH-HCC, published between 1 January 2002 and 1 April 2023, was conducted. The field in question experienced a rapid increase in publications, with the United States serving as the central hub. Collaboration between institutions was more extensive than that between countries. Notably, HEPATOLOGY (n = 30,168) emerged as the most impactful journal, and Zobair M. Younossi (n = 10,025) as the most frequently cited author in co-citations. The most commonly cited references were KLEINER DE, 2005, HEPATOLOGY (n = 630), followed by YOUNOSSI ZM, 2016, HEPATOLOGY (n = 493). The author keywords were categorized into three distinct clusters, namely, Cluster 1 (Mechanism), Cluster 2 (Factors), and Cluster 3 (Diagnosis). Analysis of high-frequency co-occurring keywords and topical trends revealed emphasis on molecular mechanisms in current research. "macrophages" and "tumor microenvironment" were active research hotspots at present in this field. Conclusion: A bibliometric analysis was performed for the first time on publications pertaining to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-hepatocellular carcinoma, uncovering co-research networks, developmental trends, and current research hotspots. The emerging frontiers of this field focused on the macrophages and tumor microenvironment, especially the tumor-associated macrophages, offering a fresh perspective for future research directions.

Keywords: NASH-associated HCC; bibliometric analysis; hepatocellular carcinoma; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; tumor-associated macrophages.

FIGURE 1

Flowchart of the search process in the study.

FIGURE 2

The bibliometric analysis of publication. (A) The annual research publication outputs and growth forecast. (B) Top 10 countries with most corresponding authors.

FIGURE 3

The bibliometric analysis of countries/institutions output. (A) The collaboration map among countries. (B) The top 10 countries on NASH-HCC research. (C) The co-authorship network among countries, with the size and color of circles representing outputs and clusters. (D) The overlay visualization of (A), with color representing the average publication year.

FIGURE 4

The bibliometric analysis of journals. (A) The top 10 institutions on NASH-HCC research. (B) The co-authorship network among institutions, with color representing the average publication year.

FIGURE 5

The bibliometric analysis of journals. (A) 20 core journals based on Bradford’s Law. (B) The co-citation network among journals, with the circle size representing citations. (C) The dual-map overlay of journals, with the colored path representing the cited relationship.

FIGURE 6

The bibliometric analysis of authors. (A) The top 10 authors on NASH-HCC research. (B) The annual outputs and citations of authors over time. (C) The co-authorship network among authors in terms of outputs, with the size of circles representing outputs and the color indicating the average citations. (D) The co-authorship network among authors in terms of citations, with the size of circles representing citations, the color indicating the average citations. (E) The co-citation density visualization of authors, the color depth representing citations.

FIGURE 7

The bibliometric analysis of the references. (A) The co-citation network among references, with the circle size representing citations. (B) Top 20 references with the strongest citation bursts.

FIGURE 8

The bibliometric analysis of the keywords and trend topics. (A) The co-occurrence network among of author keywords, with the size and color of circle representing amount and clusters. (B) The overlay visualization of (A), the color representing the average publication year. (C) Top 20 author keywords with the strongest citation bursts. (D) The timeline scope of co-citation analysis of author keywords, with each node on the same line representing different years and red nodes representing keywords in (C). (E) The top 25 authors keywords in terms of occurrences on NASH-HCC research. (F) The trend topics over time.