Bibliometric analysis of emerging trends and research foci in brainstem tumor field over thirty years (1992-2023)

Abstract

Background: Over the past several decades, numerous articles have been published on brainstem tumors. However, there has been limited bibliometric analysis in this field. Therefore, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to elucidate the evolution and current status of brainstem tumor research. Methods: We retrieved 5,927 studies published in English between 1992 and 2023 from the Web of Science Core Collection database. We employed bibliometric tools and VOSviewer to conduct the analysis. Results: We identified and included a total of 5,927 publications for further analysis. The number of annual publications has exhibited steady growth over time. The United States accounted for the highest number of publications and total citations. The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital emerged as the most productive institution, while the Journal of Neurosurgery was the leading journal in terms of publication output. Among individual researchers, Liwei Zhang had the highest number of publications, while Eric Bouffet received the most citations in this field. The study titled "Somatic Histone H3 Alterations in Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas and Non-brainstem Glioblastomas" stood out as the most cited work in this field. Keyword analysis revealed that immune therapy and epigenetic research are the focal points of this field. Conclusion: Our bibliometric analysis underscores the enduring significance of brainstem tumors in the realm of neuro-oncology research. The field's hotspots have transitioned from surgery and radiochemotherapy to investigating epigenetic mechanisms and immune therapy.