POEMS syndrome in the 21st century: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background: POEMS syndrome is a rare and complex plasma cell disorder characterized by polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, high M protein levels, and skin changes. Understanding of POEMS syndrome has advanced rapidly since the 21st century. This study aims to summarize and evaluate the research status of POEMS syndrome in the past 23 years through a bibliometric and visualization analysis, and identify research focuses and emerging hotspots for the future.

Methods: POEMS syndrome-related articles published between January 1, 2000, and March 8, 2023, were systematically retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Data processing and visualization analysis were carried out using a combination of R software, HistCite, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

Results: Since entering the 21st century, 3677 authors from 1125 institutions in 68 countries/regions have published 830 original and review articles on POEMS syndrome in 408 journals so far, among which the USA, Japan, and China published the most articles, and Mayo Clinic, Udice French Research Universities, and Peking Union Medical College listed the top three most prolific institutions. However, collaborative research across countries and groups in the study of POEMS syndrome remain significantly limited. Angela Dispenzieri ranked first in POEMS syndrome research from every aspect of authors, producing the most papers and contributing the most-cited article, followed by Satoshi Kuwabara and Sonoko Misawa. Internal medicine was the most productive journal on POEMS syndrome. "endothelial growth factor" was the keyword with the highest occurrence except for "POEMS syndrome", and "bevacizumab", "lenalidomide", "dexamethasone", and "management" were recognized as emerging topics.

Conclusion: This study utilized bibliometric and visualization analysis to systematically summarize the research of POEMS syndrome in the first two decades of the 21st century, offering a data-based and objective perspective on the field of POEMS syndrome and guiding researchers in the identification of novel research directions.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Diagnosis; POEMS syndrome; Plasma cell neoplasm; VEGF.

Fig. 1

Search strategy and summary of publications. (A) The inclusion and exclusion of publications, (B) annual number of publications and citations, and (C) categories of publications on POEMS syndrome.

Fig. 2

Leading Countries or Regions in terms of publications on POEMS syndrome. (A) Distribution of collaborations and publications among countries/regions and (B) clustering of partnership among countries/regions on POEMS syndrome research.

Fig. 3

Productive institutions and prolific authors. (A) Clustering of cooperation among institutions, (B)clustering of collaboration among authors, (C) association between active countries, institutions, and authors, and (D) the yearly publications of the top 10 most prolific authors.

Fig. 4

Core journals and references. (A) Annual outputs of the top 10 core academic journals on POEMS syndrome, (B) the dual-map thematic overlay of journals that publish POEMS syndrome studies, and (C) the top 25 most cited references with the largest citation bursts.

Fig. 5

Keywordsand research trends. (A) 6 clusters of the top 85 keywords with the most occurrences on POEMS syndrome publications, (B) a time-series keyword map based on the frequency of co-occurrence, (C) a density keyword map for visualizing co-occurrence, (D) the top 25 keywords with the most robust emergent strength, (E) trend topics mapped by keyword occurrences, (F) thematic graphic for keyword occurrences.

Fig. 6

Timeline of the top 10 landmark publications of POEMS syndrome since 2000.