Renal cell carcinoma and macrophage research: A bibliometric analysis (2004-2023)

To analyze hotspots and trends in renal cell carcinoma (RCC)-macrophage research using bibliometric analysis, although numerous studies on macrophages in RCC have been recently reported, understanding the progressive trends in this field remains challenging. Publications focused on macrophages in RCC were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer, Citespace, and Bibliometrics online platforms were used to visualize hot topics and global trends in RCC-macrophage research. In total, 778 papers were collected. China produced the most articles; however, the United States accounted for the largest number of citations. Oncology journals published the most articles, and these were cited most frequently. Based on keyword analysis, "prognosis," "immunotherapy," "tumor microenvironment," and "immune infiltration" represented the primary research hotspots. In summary, RCC-macrophage studies have emerged as a key research focus; particularly, incorporating multiomics data and applying artificial intelligence for predictive modeling have demonstrated significant potential. Our study suggests that the resistance mechanism of immune checkpoint inhibitors and the interaction between macrophages and immune checkpoint inhibitors will be pivotal areas for future research.