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. 2025 Jul 16;162(1):132.
doi: 10.1186/s41065-025-00497-2.

Delving into the pinnacle: an in-depth analysis of the top 100 most cited articles on cardio-oncology

Ping Lai #  1   2 , Shuquan Xu #  3 , Zi-Xuan Cao #  4 , Zi-You Liu  5 , Ke-Jun Tian  1 , Wen-Ting Zhong  1 , Xia Liu  6 , Yi-Ming Zhong  1   2 , Xiao-Ping Wang  7   8 , Jin-Hua Xue  9   10   11
Affiliations

Delving into the pinnacle: an in-depth analysis of the top 100 most cited articles on cardio-oncology

Ping Lai et al. Hereditas. .

Abstract

The intersection of myocardial diseases and cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular toxicity has garnered significant attention in recent years. As the field of cardio-oncology bridges cardiology and oncology, research is expanding rapidly. This study analyzes the top 100 most cited papers (T100) in cardio-oncology, providing valuable insights into current trends and key research areas. Using Microsoft Excel 2009, we conducted a comprehensive temporal analysis of publications and citations. To visualize complex networks involving co-citations, countries, and author keywords, we utilized VOSviewer software. Additionally, Citespace was employed to identify clusters of keywords experiencing notable citation surges. The T100 selection includes 81 clinical research papers and 19 foundational studies. Key journals such as the European Heart Journal and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology stand out, collectively accumulating over 700 citations (9 papers from European Heart Journal and 7 from Journal of the American College of Cardiology). Notably, the United States leads the field with 41 publications and 2,868 citations, excluding self-citations. Prominent keywords emerging in this area include “cardiovascular diseases” (strength 2.48, 2019–2022), “management” (average publication year: September 2019, occurrence: 11 times), and “immune checkpoint inhibitors” (average publication year: 2020, occurrence: 5 times). While the T100 predominantly comprises clinical research, there is a discernible gap in foundational studies exploring the mechanisms of myocardial diseases induced by cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity. The USA continues to dominate this field. Research in cardio-oncology focuses on cardiovascular diseases, especially heart failure and atrial fibrillation, with an emphasis on comprehensive management strategies and the potential of immune checkpoint inhibitors. This study offers valuable insights that could enhance our understanding and management of cardio-oncological complications.

Keywords: Cardio-oncology; Citespace; Management; Most cited; VOSviewer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of searching and analyzing the top 100 most cited articles
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) the consist of the top 100 most cited articles. (B) Time distribution of clinical research articles and basic research articles. (C) Total citations of the 100 most cited articles per year (top), and total publications and average citations per year (bottle). (D) Main themes of clinical research (top) and basic research (bottle)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A) Total citations of the journals are more than 2 of T100, and (B) Total publications and average citations of the journals are more than 2 of T100 (bottle). (C) Visual network map of journals published T100, different color represents different clusters, bigger size of the dot stands for the more publications, lines mean the association between journals
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A) total publications and citations of countries published T100, and (B) Radar chart of average citations of the countries published T100. (C) Visual network map of countries published T100, the wider the circle means the more publications and the thicker the line stands for the closer the cooperation between the countries/regions
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A. Total publications and citations of authors, and B. Radar chart of average citations of the authors published more than 2 of T100. C. Visual network map co-authorship authors with more than 2 of T100, the size of the circle represents the number of publications, and the line stands for the co-authorship between the authors
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
(A) Total publications and citations of institutions, and (B) Radar chart of average citations of the institutions published more than 2 of T100. (C) Country distribution of institutions published more than 2 of T100
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
(A) Visual network of 134 keywords with more than 3 occurrences formed by VOSviewer. The size of the node stands for the time of occurrence, and lines between dots mean the co-occurrence of keywords. (B) Visual network of 134 keywords with more than 3 occurrences over time conducted by VOSviewer. The size of the node stands for the time of occurrence, and lines between dots mean the co-occurrence of keywords. Purple stands for old keywords, and yellow means emerging keywords
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
(A) Visual analysis of the clusters decided by the keywords of T100 performed by CiteSpace. (B) Timeline viewer of keywords from the clusters of keywords from T100 by CiteSpace. Note: In Panel A, nodes in the same color group belong to a thematic cluster, showing groups of closely related keywords. In Panel B, nodes represent keywords, and their size indicates the frequency of occurrence. Links represent co-occurrence or thematic connections over time
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Top 15 keywords with the strongest citation bursts formed by Citespace. Note: Burst intensity in CiteSpace quantifies the speed and magnitude of a node’s (e.g., keyword) rising occurrence over time. High burst marks sudden, sustained research foci (e.g., paradigm shifts), while low burst reflects modest growth, such as nascent trends or niche topics
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