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. 2025 Jul 30:16:1615944.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1615944. eCollection 2025.

Vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer: a bibliometric analysis of trends and themes

Xiaoxia Liu #  1 , Yinghui Zhao #  1 , Xianhua Meng  1 , Zheng Gao  1 , Xiaohong Wang  1 , Fengyong Yang  2
Affiliations

Vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer: a bibliometric analysis of trends and themes

Xiaoxia Liu et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer remains a significant global health challenge, with increasing evidence suggesting the crucial role of vaginal bacteria in its development and progression. This study aims to analyze the global research landscape and trends in vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer research through bibliometric analysis.

Methods: Literature data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. Bibliometric analysis was performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R-bibliometrix to evaluate publication patterns, research collaboration networks, and emerging trends.

Results: A total of 372 publications were identified, showing an annual growth rate of 8.41%. China and USA emerged as leading contributors, with the Imperial College London and University of Arizona being the most productive institutions. Herbst-Kralovetz MM and Laniewski P were identified as the most influential authors, while BMC Infectious Diseases and Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology were the primary publication venues. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified "bacterial vaginosis," "women," and "inflammation" as the most frequent terms, while burst detection revealed emerging research trends in "lactobacillus," "intraepithelial neoplasia," and "16 s rRNA gene sequencing."

Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis provides comprehensive insights into the evolution and current status of vaginal bacteria research in cervical cancer, highlighting key research themes and collaborative patterns. These findings offer valuable guidance for future research directions and potential clinical applications in cervical cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; bacterial vaginosis; bibliometric analysis; cervical cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature screening flowchart for vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer research publications.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Annual publication trends of vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer research from 1978 to 2024.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Geographic distribution and international collaboration network among vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer publications. (A) Global distribution map of publications by country/region. (B) International collaboration network visualization, where node size indicates publication volume and line thickness represents collaboration strength.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Institutional analysis and collaboration patterns in vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer. (A) Distribution of publications among top 10 contributing institutions. (B) Inter-institutional collaboration network visualization, with node size representing publication count and connecting lines indicating collaborative relationships.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Author collaboration network visualization in vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Journal analysis network in vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer. (A) Distribution and relationship of publishing journals based on citation patterns. (B) Journal bibliographic coupling network showing research theme clusters.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Keywords analysis in vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Timeline view of the top 20 keywords with the strongest citation bursts from 1978 to 2024.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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