Skip to main content

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1438091

Thematic trends and knowledge-map of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer: A scientometric analysis

Provisionally accepted
Jinan Shi Jinan Shi 1Lei Pan Lei Pan 2Feixia Ma Feixia Ma 2Ganlu Zhang Ganlu Zhang 1Yin Duan Yin Duan 2*
  • 1 Department of Medical Oncology, Zhejiang Hospital, Hangzhou, China
  • 2 Department of Breast surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

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

    Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), essential for the anti-tumor response, are now recognized as promising and cost-effective biomarkers with both prognostic and predictive value. They are crucial in the precision treatment of breast cancer, particularly for predicting clinical outcomes and identifying candidates for immunotherapy. This study aims to encapsulate the current knowledge of TILs in breast cancer research while evaluating research trends both qualitatively and quantitatively.Methods: Publications on TILs in breast cancer studies from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2023, were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. Cooccurrence and collaboration analyses among countries/regions, institutions, authors, and keywords were performed with Bibliometrix R packages and VOSviewer software.CiteSpace was used for reference and keyword burst detection, while high-frequency keyword layouts were generated using BICOMB. gCLUTO was employed for biclustering analysis of the binary co-keyword matrix.Results: A total of 2,066 articles on TILs in breast cancer were identified. Between 2004 and 2023, the USA and Milan University led productivity in terms of country/region and institution, respectively. The journals "CANCERS," "Breast Cancer Research and Treatment," and "Frontiers in Oncology" published the most articles on this topic. Loi S was the leading author, with the highest number of publications and co-citations. Co-keyword analysis revealed six research hotspots related to TILs in breast cancer. The pathological assessment of TILs using artificial intelligence (AI) remains in its early stages but is a key focus. Burst detection of keywords indicated significant activity in "immune cell infiltration", "immune checkpoint inhibitors" , and "hormone receptor" over the past three years.This study reviews recent advancements and trends in TILs research in breast cancer using scientometric analysis. The findings offer valuable insights for funding decisions and developing innovative strategies in TILs research, highlighting 2 current research frontiers and trends.

    Keywords: breast cancer, Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, Scientometric analysis, Bibliometrix, Co-word analysis, hotspot

    Received: 30 May 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shi, Pan, Ma, Zhang and Duan. 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: Yin Duan, Department of Breast surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 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.