Identification of publication characteristics and research trends in the management of gallbladder cancer

Abstract

To date, no comprehensive analysis of gallbladder cancer (GBC) management has been reported. We aimed to identify the publication characteristics and research trends in managing GBC over the past three decades. We selected the 100 most cited articles, and performed a bibliometric analysis to summarize the publication characteristics, explore research hotspots, and identify research trends in the management of GBC. The total citations of the included articles ranged from 123 to 1,822. Period II (2001–2010) yielded the highest number of included articles, whereas the lowest was in Period III (2011–2020). The United States and Japan published the most papers, in which the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center and Nagoya University were the leading institutions, respectively. The most influential authors were Blumgart LH and Fong YM from the United States. Cooperation among countries, institutions, and authors was weak. The Annals of Surgery contributed the most articles with the highest number of total citations. The most researched topic was surgery, followed by systemic therapy and adjuvant therapy. Since Period I, the percentage of surgery-related publications continuously decreased (Periods II and III versus Period I, both p < 0.001), with a concomitant increase in those of adjuvant therapy (Period III versus Period I, p = 0.004) and systemic therapy (Period II versus Period I, p = 0.004; Period III versus Period I, p = 0.002). Surgery remains the preferred treatment, while there is a tendency towards adjuvant and systemic therapy in GBC management. An increase in local and international collaboration for managing GBC is required. • The 100 most cited papers in gallbladder cancer management were identified based on the total citations. • A bibliometric analysis was performed, identifying publication characteristics and research trends in gallbladder cancer management. • Surgery remained the primary treatment, while there was a research trend to adjuvant and systemic therapy in gallbladder cancer management, which should be reinforced by collaboration.