Insights into the historical trajectory and research trends of immune checkpoint blockade in colorectal cancer: visualization and bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant tumor that poses a significant threat to human health due to rising incidence and mortality rates. In recent years, immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, represented by Programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1), T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), and others, has been widely applied in CRC and has achieved encouraging results in some patients and has become a hot topic in both clinical and basic research.

Objective: This study undertakes a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of ICB research in CRC, aiming to evaluate the current status, identify future trends, and provide scientific insights for researchers and decision-makers.

Methods: Utilizing the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), articles focusing on ICB in CRC from 2000 to 2022 were retrieved. Knowledge mapping and bibliometric analysis were conducted using tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, SCImago Graphicay, and the R package bibliometrix.

Results: 6,718 publications were analyzed from 24,846 institutions across 639 regions. Temporally, ICB research in CRC is rapidly advancing, led by the USA and China with extensive global collaborations. Sun Yat-sen University from China stands out as the institution with the highest number of publications. Professor Thierry Andre from Sorbonne University in France is identified as a prolific author in this field, engaging in extensive collaboration for clinical trials on a global scale. Publications related to this research topic were published in 1,142 academic journals, demonstrating a positive co-citation relationship. Key clustering and burst terms analysis indicate that current research on ICB in CRC has shifted from basic experiments to clinical trials and from universal healthcare to precision medicine.

Conclusion: ICB therapies have shown substantial progress in CRC, highlighting their therapeutic potential. Research trends emphasize deeper drug mechanisms, treatment efficacy prediction, managing immune-related adverse events, and exploring novel drug delivery methods. Collaboration across borders remains crucial for further advancements.

Keywords: R-bibliometrix; bibliometric analysis; colorectal cancer; immune checkpoint blockade; research trends.

Figure 1

Data screening and research flowchart.

Figure 2

Publications and average annual citations trends.

Figure 3

(A) CiteSpace-generated national/regional co-occurrence network map. (B) Cooperation network map between countries/regions created by SCImago Graphics. (C) Research institution co-occurrence network map generated by CiteSpace.

Figure 4

Top 30 authors’ collaboration network map produced by SCImago Graphicay.

Figure 5

(A) Journal co-occurrence network map created by VOSviewer. The threshold is set to a minimum number of documents from the source of 50. (B) Journal co-citation network map created by VOSviewer. The threshold is set at a minimum of 2,000 citations from sources. (C) Network map of co-cited documents created by VOSviewer. The threshold is set at a minimum of 200 citations for cited references.

Figure 6

(A) Cluster map of co-cited literature created by CiteSpace. (B) Timeline cluster map of co-cited literature. (C) Keyword co-occurrence network map created by CiteSpace. (D) Timeline cluster map of keywords.

Figure 7

(A) Top 25 keywords with the strongest citation bursts. (B) Top 20 H-index authors. (C) Top 20 H-index journals.