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. 2024 Nov 6;21(1):278.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-024-02553-1.

Comprehensive retrospect and future perspective on bacteriophage and cancer

Zhong Liping  1   2   3 , Yu Sheng  1   2   3 , Wu Yinhang  1   2   3 , Song Yifei  1   2   3 , Huang Jiaqun  1   2   3 , Yu Xiaojian  1   2   3 , Han Shuwen  4   5   6   7 , Zhuang Jing  8   9   10
Affiliations

Comprehensive retrospect and future perspective on bacteriophage and cancer

Zhong Liping et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: Researchers gradually focus on the relationship between phage and cancer.

Objective: To summarize the research hotspots and trends in the field of bacteriophage and cancer.

Methods: The downloaded articles were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection database from January 2008 to June 2023. Bibliometric analysis was carried out through CiteSpace, including the analysis of cooperative networks (country/region, institution, and author), co-citations of references, and key words.Visual analysis of three topics, including gut phage, phage and bacteria, and phage and tumor, was conducted.

Results: Overall, the United States and China have the most phage-related research. In terms of gut phage, the future research directions are "gut microbiome", "database" and "microbiota". The bursting citations explored the phage-dominated viral genome to discover its diversity and individual specificity and investigated associations among bacteriome, metabolome, and virome. In terms of phage and bacteria, "lipopolysaccharide" and "microbiota" are future research directions. Future research hotspots should mainly concentrate on the further exploration and application of phage properties. As for phages and tumors, the future research directions should be "colorectal cancer", "protein" and "phage therapy". Future directions are likely to focus on the research on phages in cancer mechanisms, cancer diagnosis, and cancer treatment combined with genetic engineering techniques.

Conclusion: Phage therapy would become a hot spot and research direction of tumor and phage research, and the relationship between phage and tumor, especially colorectal cancer (CRC), is expected to be further explored.

Keywords: Bacteriophage; Cancer; CiteSpace; Phage therapy; Tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Application of phage in the treatment and prevention of cancer. Phages have strong targeting ability and carrier potential, so they are mainly applied in five aspects, including cancer immunotherapy, cancer imaging, cancer vaccine, gene therapy, and drug delivery system
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cooperative network analysis of gut phage. A Cooperation network map for countries/regions. B Cooperation network map for institutions. C Cooperation network map for authors
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Cooperative network analysis of phage and bacteria. A Cooperation network map for countries/regions. B Cooperation network map for institutions. C Cooperation network map for authors
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Cooperative network analysis of phage and tumor. A Cooperation network map for countries/regions. B Cooperation network map for institutions. C Cooperation network map for authors
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Reference co-citation analysis of gut phage. A Reference clustering map. B Reference co-citation time diagram. C The top 25 co-cited references with the strongest burst intensity
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Reference co-citation analysis of phage and bacteria. A Reference clustering map. B Reference co-citation time diagram. C The top 25 co-cited references with the strongest burst intensity
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Reference co-citation analysis of phage and tumor. A Reference clustering map. B Reference co-citation time diagram. C The top 25 co-cited references with the strongest burst intensity
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Keyword analysis of gut phage. A Keyword clustering map. B Keyword time diagram. C The top 25 keywords with the strongest burst intensity
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Keyword analysis of phage and bacteria. A Keyword clustering map. B Keyword time diagram. C The top 25 keywords with the strongest burst intensity
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Keyword analysis of phage and tumor. A Keyword clustering map. B Keyword time diagram. C The top 25 keywords with the strongest burst intensity
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