Smoking and bladder cancer: insights into pathogenesis and public health implications from a bibliometric analysis (1999-2023)

Abstract

Background: Cigarette smoking is a major contributor to the global burden of bladder cancer. Its carcinogenic effects result from the harmful substances in tobacco smoke, which induce genetic mutations and disrupt cellular processes. Understanding how smoking contributes to bladder cancer is essential for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Objective: This study systematically reviews global research on the relationship between smoking and bladder cancer through bibliometric analysis, identifying research hotspots, trends and future directions.

Methods: Relevant literature on the relationship between cigarette smoking and bladder cancer published between 1999 and 2023 was retrieved from the Web of Science database. Visual analyses were conducted using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software, focusing on contributions from countries, institutions, journals, authors and keywords.

Results: Our analysis of 2,802 publications revealed an upward trend in annual output on the relationship between smoking and bladder cancer, with the United States and China as leading contributors. Notable institutions included the NIH, National Cancer Institute, University of Texas System and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Key journals were Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and International Journal of Cancer. Rothman, Nathaniel and Zeegers, M.P.A. were the most productive and co-cited authors. Keyword analysis highlighted DNA repair, genome-wide association studies, and smoking cessation.

Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis has significantly advanced the field by highlighting current research directions and the application of specific mechanisms. These findings also have implications for clinical practice and public health policy, potentially improving patient outcomes through a comprehensive understanding of disease pathogenesis.

Keywords: Bibliometrics; Bladder cancer; Citation analysis; International collaboration; Smoking.

Fig. 1

Flow chart illustrating the literature extraction process from the database

Fig. 2

The growth trend of the number of publications and citations from 1999 to 2023. The left vertical axis represents the annual publication count, while the right vertical axis indicates the annual citation frequency

Fig. 3

Analysis of global research trends and collaborations. A The total link strength of publications in different countries/regions. B Visualization graph of collaborations between countries/regions. The sizes of the bubbles bearing the names of countries correspond to the respective quantities of publications, while the color of the bubbles represents the total link strength (TLS)

Fig. 4

Inter-institutional collaboration network. This visualization depicts the network of institutional collaboration. Each node represents an institution, with the size of the node indicating the volume of publications by that institution. The lines connecting the institutions reflect their collaborative relationships

Fig. 5

Journal collaboration network. Each node in this network diagram represents a scientific journal, with the size of the node proportional to the number of publications attributed to that journal. The lines connecting the nodes illustrate the collaborative relationships between the journals

Fig. 6

Analysis of authors and co-cited authors. A Visualization map of author analysis. B Visualization map of co-cited author analysis. Each node represents an author or co-cited author, with node size indicating their citation count or document volume. Lines between authors represent collaborative relationships

Fig. 7

Keyword visualization and analysis. A Network visualization of keywords using VOSviewer, where node sizes increase with keyword frequency. B The 25 most frequently cited keywords by CiteSpace. The term “strength” refers to the connection intensity between two nodes, as determined by the software