Global Research Trends on Colorectal Cancer (2014-2023): A Scientometric and Visualized Study

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third most common cancer worldwide, significantly contributing to cancer-related deaths and increasingly affecting younger populations. Although its impact on patients' quality of life is profound, scientometric studies on CRC remain underexplored. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scientific literature on CRC from 2014 to 2023, employing a range of scientometric and statistical approaches.

This study obtained CRC-related publications from the Scopus database. The analyses of the collaboration and co-occurrence among countries/regions, institutions, journals, references, authors, and keywords were conducted utilizing VOSviewer, facilitating the identification of key research trends and emergent subjects.

A review of Scopus entries yielded 200,385 papers on CRC in the last decade, noting a yearly increase in publications from 2014 to 2023. China emerged as the most prolific contributor with 46,674 documents. A positive correlation was identified between a country's CRC research output and gross domestic product (GDP; r=0.961, P<0.001). The journal "Cancers" led to 3006 articles, and H. Brenner stood out as the foremost author with 452 publications. However, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China led institutional contributions to 3094 papers.

With a leading count of 46674 articles, China dominated CRC research, particularly highlighted by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The primarily obtained keywords were CRC, cancer, prognosis, rectal cancer, and colon cancer. Despite the presence of global collaborations, there is a pressing need for increased research funding and support in the CRC, especially within developing nations. This study is a navigational tool for medical professionals, researchers, and surgical assistants to grasp the international progress and directions in CRC research.