Published online Jul 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i7.3321
Revised: April 16, 2024
Accepted: April 28, 2024
Published online: July 15, 2024
Processing time: 175 Days and 13 Hours
The immune microenvironment (IME) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) plays a pivotal role in determining patient outcomes and responses to treatment. This area is witnessing rapid growth in research interest. However, there is a lack of comprehensive bibliometric analyses that dissect trends and potential focal points in this field.
To explore the evolution of research on the IME in HCC from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2023, using bibliometric methodologies.
English articles and reviews concerning the IME of HCC were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection with a search date of December 31, 2023. The R package Bibliometrix was employed to compute basic bibliometric characteristics, illustrate collaborations among countries and authors, and create a three-field diagram illustrating the connections between authors, affiliations, and keywords. Analyses of country and institutional co-authorship, as well as keyword co-oc
The study encompassed 3125 documents in the research areas related to HCC of IME, revealing a substantial and continuous increase in the annual publication trend over time. China and Fudan University emerged as leading contributors, with 2103 and 165 publications, respectively. Frontiers in immunology was the most prolific journal in this domain. Among the top ten researchers in the field, eight are based in China. Key research terms identified include tumour microenvironment, expression, immunotherapy, and prognosis.
The relationship between HCC and IME is receiving increasing attention, and related research is in a highly developed stage. Key focus areas, including IME and immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunotherapy are poised to be central to future research endeavors, offering promising pathways for further exploration.
Core Tip: The current major research thrust in the field is to explore immune microenvironment (IME)-based immunotherapy related to hepatocellular carcinoma. Our researchers have taken an in-depth look at tumor IME and concluded that immune checkpoint-based immunotherapy, precision immunotherapy and immune cellular modalities are the frontiers and priorities for the coming years, which may provide valuable opportunities for further research.