A two-decade bibliometric analysis of tumor-associated macrophages in colorectal cancer research

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), the predominant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), facilitate proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, chemoresistance, and immunosuppression in colorectal cancer (CRC). The mutual pathological mechanisms remain unclear, necessitating an in-depth study of the relationship between TAMs and CRC. This paper employs bibliometric methods to analyze TAMs and CRC research literature, aiming to assess current trends, evaluate the research status, and forecast future directions and emerging topics. We searched for publications published in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database from January 1, 2001 to July 31, 2024. Following the establishment of specific search criteria for time, publication type, and language, bibliometric analysis and data visualization were conducted using Microsoft Excel, R software, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. A total of 1,218 publications authored by 8,302 researchers across 61 countries and 1,657 institutions were analyzed. They were published in 427 journals, covering 4,451 keywords and citing 65,174 references. Keyword co-occurrence and literature co-citation analysis identified nuclear factor kappa-B, endothelial growth factor, angiogenesis, polarization, TME, immune response, programmed cell death protein 1 blockade, and metabolism as current research hotspots and trends in this field. Immune therapy and cancer-associated fibroblasts are key research areas, with the potential for further exploration of their mechanisms and targeted therapies. This paper employs bibliometric methods to comprehensively analyze and visualize research papers in TAMs and CRC. It analyzes the TAM-targeting research landscape in CRC, mapping current frontiers and translational potential to position TAMs as a promising immunotherapeutic strategy.