Visualization and bibliometric analysis of global research trends on oral cancer screening and early diagnosis

Cancer screening and early diagnosis play a crucial role in reducing the mortality of the late-stage oral cancer. This research performed bibliometric analysis of the published literature to provide an overview on research status and visualize the changing trends.

The related English articles and reviews published from 1990 to 2024 concerning oral cancer screening and early diagnosis were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence analysis and visualization were performed; the citation information was obtained by HistCite.

From1990 to 2024, the number of publications showed a steady growth with a surge during the last five years, and a total of 3,360 publications were identified. The United States was the leading country with the highest number of publications and citations. University of California, Los Angeles and King's College London were the most influential institutions. Sankaranarayanan R, Warnakulasuriya S, and Epstein JB was the most productive author. Oral Oncology held the highest number of papers and citations. The top 10 most cited publications and references were listed. The evolution of research hotspots was illustrated thorough co-citation analysis of references and keywords citation burst detection. Oral potentially malignant disorders, artificial intelligence, and liquid biopsy were identified as three current hotspots.

Current research in oral cancer screening and early diagnosis focuses on oral potentially malignant disorders and adjunctive diagnostic techniques, especially on artificial intelligence and liquid biopsy. Comprehensive collaboration and inter-disciplinary studies are needed to further current research.