Immunotherapy and combination treatments for triple-negative breast cancer: a Scopus bibliometric perspective

Immunotherapy, a cornerstone treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), has several limitations as a monotherapy. Global research is actively investigating effective combinatorial immunotherapy treatments for TNBC. Aim: This study aimed to elucidate an overview and research hot spots of immunotherapy and its combinatorial regimens in TNBC management for the past 5 years.

Publications were retrieved from Scopus from 2019 to 2023 and analyzed using Harzing's Publish or Perish, Microsoft Excel, and VOSviewer.

The study included a total of 1,818 publications, demonstrating increased publication trends over the years. The most productive continent, country, and journal were Asia (TP = 957), the United States (TP = 653), and Cancers (TP = 123), respectively. The United States and China exhibited the most dynamic inter-country collaboration, evidenced by the highest link strength (69). The United States emerged as the most influential country, recording the highest TLS (520). The analysis of co-occurrence author keywords revealed ICIs, PD-L1, and TME as research hot spots. The thorough integration of knowledge and research on these hot spots may offer an alternative in the management of TNBC.

It is imperative to identify combinatorial immunotherapy treatments in order to have better cancer management.