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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Translational Pharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1509259
This article is part of the Research Topic Anti-cancer Nanomedicines: From Design to Clinical Applications View all 7 articles

Knowledge Structure and Dynamic Evolution of Nanomedicine in Liver Cancer Research: A Scientometric Analysis and Visualization

Provisionally accepted
Shaodong Li Shaodong Li 1Jiandong Fei Jiandong Fei 2Bo Shao Bo Shao 3Zhenhua Kang Zhenhua Kang 1*Guoqiang Yan Guoqiang Yan 1*
  • 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China
  • 3 Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China

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

    Background: Nanomedicine has received much attention for its potential applications in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. However, no bibliometric evaluation has been conducted to present an assessment of scientific progress in the field. The aim of this study is to comprehensively catalog the cooperation and influence of journals, countries, institutions, and authors in the field of nanomedicine in liver cancer from the perspective of bibliometrics, evaluate the clustering evolution of knowledge structure, and uncover hot topics and emerging themes.Methods: Articles and reviews related to nanomedicine and liver cancer were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Literature Library using Topic Search. #1TS= ("Hepatic Neoplasm*" OR "Liver Neoplasm" OR "Liver Cancer*" OR "Hepatocellular Cancer*" OR "Hepatic Cancer*"), #2 TS= "nano*", the search strategy is set as #1 AND #2 limited to Science Citation Index Expanded database source, with no limitation of publication types and language/time. Bibliometric studies were conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer.Results: 2648 articles and reviews were included from 2000 to 2024. The number of articles regarding nanomedicine in liver cancer showed an increasing trend. Analysis of the most productive journals shows that most are specialized in nanoscience & nanotechnology, pharmacology & pharmacy, and chemistry & multidisciplinary. These publications mainly come from 8782 institutions in 297 countries led by China and the USA. Shao D published the most papers among the publications, while Jemal A had the most co-citations. The macroscopical sketch and micro-representation of the whole knowledge field are realized through co-citation analysis. Hepatocellular carcinoma, targeted delivery, sorafenib nanoparticles, and others are current and developing areas of study. The keywords "nanocrystals," "biodistribution," and "particles" also may be the focus of new trends and future research.In this study, bibliometrics and visual methods were used to review the research of nanomedicine in liver cancer comprehensively. The article will help scholars to gain a better understanding of the dynamic evolution of nanomedicine applications in liver cancer and point the directions for future research.

    Keywords: Nanomedicine, liver cancer, bibliometric analysis, visualization, Citespace, VOSviewer

    Received: 10 Oct 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Fei, Shao, Kang and Yan. 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:
    Zhenhua Kang, First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    Guoqiang Yan, First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 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.