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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1511866
This article is part of the Research Topic Immune Predictive and Prognostic Biomarkers in Immuno-Oncology: Refining the Immunological Landscape of Cancer View all articles

The Global Trends and Distribution in Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes over the past 49 Years: Bibliometric and visualized analysis 1

Provisionally accepted
Beibei Wu Beibei Wu *Ding Luo Ding Luo *Xuejie Wang Xuejie Wang *Chen Qiao Chen Qiao *Rui Li Rui Li *Jian Liu Jian Liu *
  • Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The body of research on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is expanding rapidly; yet, a comprehensive analysis of related publications has been notably absent. Objective: This study utilizes bibliometric methodologies to identify emerging research hotspots and to map the distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte research. Methods: Literature from the Web of Science database was analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, Scimago Graphica, R-bibliometrix, and R packages.Results: Research on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes began in 1975 and has experienced significant growth, particularly after 2015. Leading contributors include the United States, the National Cancer Institute, the journal Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, and researcher Steven A. Rosenberg. Other prominent contributors include China, the National Institutes of Health, researcher Roberto Salgado, and the Journal of Immunology. Prominent institutions in the USA and Europe occupy central roles within collaborative networks. Financial support plays a pivotal role in driving research advancements. Keyword clustering analysis reveals four primary knowledge domains: adoptive cell therapy; the prognostic value of TILs; PD-1/PD-L1 and TILs; and prognostic studies of TILs across various cancers. Keyword and reference analyses further indicate that "adoptive cell therapy," "the prognostic value of TILs," and "immune checkpoint inhibitors and TILs" are central themes in current and future research. Combination therapies; tumor neoantigens; gene editing; dominant population selection of TILs therapy; TILs in Tumor microenvironment; emerging predictive biomarkers; TILs in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and immunotherapy; the relationship between TILs and PD-L1; TIL-based patient stratification; tertiary lymphoid structures; and TIL evaluation through digital pathology and artificial intelligence are identified as key areas of interest. Conclusions: This analysis highlights the increasing academic focus on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte research and identifies key recent themes in the field such as prognostic value of TILs, personalized treatments, and combination therapies.

    Keywords: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, adoptive cell therapy, predictive biomarker, PD-L1, Bibliometrics

    Received: 15 Oct 2024; Accepted: 11 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Luo, Wang, Qiao, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Beibei Wu, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    Ding Luo, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    Xuejie Wang, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    Chen Qiao, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    Rui Li, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
    Jian Liu, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.