Radiosensitizers in Cancer Therapy: A Global Bibliometric Analysis

Radiosensitizers are compounds given concurrently with radiotherapy to enhance the killing of cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Radiosensitization research has involved a diverse range of therapeutic agents. In the present study, we aimed to investigate international trends in the development of radiosensitizers across the most common cancer types.

A bibliometric analysis was performed of the field of radiosensitizer research from 1956 to 2024. Individual author impacts and trends, collaborations between and productivity of countries, and themes/keywords were analyzed.

Our search yielded 12,690 results. The most highly represented countries were the United States of America, China, and Germany. Radiosensitizer studies for breast cancers demonstrated the highest rate of annual growth in record count by comparison with other cancer types, while publications for gynecological cancers showed the slowest growth. The most common radiosensitizers investigated included ATM kinase inhibitors, chemotherapies, gold nanoparticles, mTOR inhibitors, natural compounds such as caffeine or curcumin, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors.

The United States, Germany, and China were the most productive countries during the study period, with China demonstrating the greatest increase in annual publication rate. Additionally, pre-clinical studies primarily investigated gold particles and targeted therapies. By comparison, clinical studies focused on radiosensitizing chemotherapies.