Gynecologic oncology top-cited articles: an international analysis

The aim of this paper was to study the top-cited per year (CPY) original articles published in the leading subspecialty journals in gynecologic oncology and in the leading general obstetrics and gynecology journals. We used the Web of Science and iCite databases to mine the original articles and review articles in the field of gynecologic oncology in the following journals: Gynecologic Oncology, The International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Obstetrics & Gynecology. Top CPY articles from the four journals were analyzed and compared in a two-time point analysis. A total of 23,252 original articles and reviews were identified. The 100 Top-CPY articles were published from 1983 to 2021. Seventy (70%) in Gynecologic Oncology journal, 20 (20%) in The International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, eight (8%) in Obstetrics & Gynecology and two (2%) in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The most common study methodology was observational studies (20%), followed by guidelines/consensus papers (19%). The most common study topic was ovarian cancer (41%). North America originating authors composed 62% of the top CPY publications, followed by Europe (21%). The most common country of authorship was the United States (52%) followed by Canada (10%). CPY were similar in the publications before vs. after 2014 (P=.19). Study designs, study topics and continent of authorship were similar in both periods. The proportion of multi-center studies was higher after 2014 (66.6% vs. 28.8%, P=0.002) and the proportion of open access publications was higher after 2014 (66.6% vs. 15.4%, P<.001). Funded studies were more common after 2014 (75.0% vs. 53.8%, P=0.028). Ovarian cancer is the top CPY area of research in gynecologic oncology. This field is leaded by authors from the United States with multi-center studies proportion increasing in recent years. It is important to promote further high-quality research in other countries to disseminate knowledge and equality.