A dynamic study of the postoperative management of thyroid cancer from 2003 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis

Over the past 20 years, the global incidence of thyroid cancer has continued to increase. The volume of literature on the postoperative management of thyroid cancer comprises 1,040 articles, from 64 countries, with 1,400 journals publishing the relevant literature, and several guidelines on the treatment of thyroid cancer. This study used bibliometric methods to identify research hotspots and explore future directions in this field.

We comprehensively searched the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) database of the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) for articles published from 2003 to 2022 on the postoperative management of thyroid cancer. Using CiteSpace 6.1.R6 and Microsoft Office Excel 2010, we evaluated and visualized the search results. Using R Studio, we generated a network of spatial geographic distribution maps and cooperative network.

A total of 1,040 publications were included in the study. The results revealed an overall upward trend in the number of publications and citations over the past 20 years. The United States of America (USA) had the largest number of publications and the highest centrality (n=282, centrality =0.28). Johns Hopkins University had highest centrality (centrality =0.15) and was the academic center of the field. Thyroid was the journal with the highest number of citations (n=826), and the American Journal of Surgical Pathology was the journal with the highest centrality (centrality =0.08). The top 10 citations in the literature were mainly guidelines and consensus statements on the management of thyroid cancer. A keyword-based clustering analysis revealed the prominence of clusters of keywords, such as follow-up, recurrent laryngeal nerve, and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). A keyword burst detection analysis showed that the term papillary had the highest burst intensity (strength =8.02), while management guidelines, association guidelines, active surveillance (AS), microcarcinoma, and differentiated thyroid cancer were the current burst words.

Over the past two decades, the number of relevant publications in the postoperative management of thyroid cancer field has continued to grow. Among the many research directions, follow-up, recurrent laryngeal nerve, and MTC are research hotspots. Future research is likely to revolve around guidelines and consensus statements on the management of thyroid cancer, AS, and microcarcinoma in differentiated thyroid cancer.