Bibliometric Analysis of Preoperative Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Evolution and Future

Zhen-Hong Weng ¹ Hao-Kai Hu ¹ Zi-Shan Zhou ² Li-Sheng Huang ³ Bin-Bin Chen ¹ Jia-Rui Lin ^1*

• ¹ Department of Gastrointestinal surgery, Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
• ² Department of Health Management Clinic, Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
• ³ Department of Radiotherapy, Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China

Background: Preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer has been a hot research topic in recent years with the introduction of total neoadjuvant therapies and immunotherapeutic agents. We utilized bibliometrics and visualization analysis to examine studies in this field, aiming to identify current hotspots and research trends. Method: We searched the Web of Science database for all publications related to preoperative radiotherapy of rectal cancer in the past 10 years. Using bibliometric analysis software, such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R-studio, we extracted and analyzed the data, summarizing publication output of countries, institutions, authors, and journals, and analyzing their relationships. We also summarized keywords, burst words, and most cited articles, analyzing their relationships. Results: We found 794 publications in the field, sourced from 217 journals or books, involving 5,805 authors from various organizations and countries.Through bibliometric analysis, we observed a growing trend in the number of publications in preoperative radiotherapy of rectal cancer over the past 10 years. China, the United States, and Italy were the top countries in ublication output. Sun Yat-sen University, Fujian University, and Fudan University were the top three medical centers in publication output, while Leiden University from the Netherlands led globally in citation impact. Professors Zhen Zhang, Sanjun Cai, and Ji Zhu were the top three authors with the highest publication output. The most highly cited journals in this field include “The Lancet Oncology,” “J Clinical Oncology,” and “Annals of Oncology.” Journals such as 'Radiotherapy and Oncology,' 'Frontiers in Oncology,' and 'BMC Cancer' published the most articles. Based on the analysis of keywords and burst words, we found that "preoperative chemoradiation" and "oral capecitabine" were research hotspots before 2016, while the focus shifted to "short-course radiotherapy" and "long-term outcomes" after 2017. Currently, the most frequently cited publications mainly summarize multicenter clinical studies and total neoadjuvant treatment models combined with immunotherapy. Conclusion: Research on preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer is increasing annually and attracting attention from high-cited journals such as “The Lancet Oncology,” “JCO,” and “Annals of Oncology.” Current data indicate that total neoadjuvant treatment models and radiation combined with immunotherapy are key research trends.