Abstract
The aim of this paper is to map the scientific landscape related to cancer research worldwide between 2012 and 2017. We use scientific publication data from Web of Science Core Collection and combine bibliometrics and social network analysis techniques to identify the most relevant journals, research areas, countries and research organizations in cancer scientific landscape. The results show: Oncotarget as the journal with most publications; a significant increase in China’s publications, reaching United States’ publications in 2017; MD Cancer Center, University of California and Harvard University as organizations with most publications; cell biology as the most frequent research area; breast, lung and colorectal cancer as the most frequent keywords; high density of co-authorship between organizations in the West, especially in the US, and low density between organizations in Asian and lower and medium income countries. Our findings can be used to guide a global knowledge platform guiding policy, planning and funding decisions as well as to establish new institutional collaborations.
Highlights
Cancer cases worldwide reached 17.5 million cases in 2015, along with 8.7 million deaths
We present the recent landscape of cancer research, as well as the relationships established in research
The aim of this paper is to map the scientific landscape related to cancer research worldwide between 2012 and 2017, combining bibliometrics and Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques
Summary
Cancer cases worldwide reached 17.5 million cases in 2015, along with 8.7 million deaths. The incidence rate increased by 33% between 2005 and 2015 partly due to population growth and aging. Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide and is expected to hit 27.1 million people by 2030 - especially in rich countries [1]. The main reasons are population aging and daily habits associated with the disease, such as smoking, alcoholism and sedentarism [1, 2]. The greatest impact of cancer will be in countries in the midst of economic and social transition [2]. Bibliometrics in studies related to cancer is relatively common in the literature. Specific topics within cancer research, such as the division between genders in scientific production, were the subject of bibliometrics [8]. We present the recent landscape of cancer research, as well as the relationships established in research (networks)
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