Global trends in research on radiofrequency ablation for lung cancer: a bibliometric and visualization analysis...

For early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, surgical resection is the preferred treatment. However, for elderly patients, those with comorbidities, or those with poor lung function, it may be difficult for them to tolerate the surgery. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) precisely damages the tumor through thermal energy, is minimally invasive, has a quick recovery, and maximally preserves lung function. It has become an important option for patients who are not suitable for surgery. This study aimed to explore the research hotspots and development trends in the field of RFA of lung cancer through bibliometric analysis.

Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) was used to search for articles on RFA for lung cancer. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to analyze the publication trend, country, institution, author, journal, keywords, etc.

A total of 1,367 articles were retrieved. China ranked first in publication volume (n=413), but its institutional average citation and H-index were lower than those of European and American institutions. Harvard University and UNICANCER showed higher academic influence. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology [88 articles, total citations (TCs) =3,024, total link strength (TLS) =27,689] and Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (TC =1,900, TLS =23,057) were significantly ahead in the number of publications, TC and collaborative network strength (TLS). The most frequently used keywords were RFA (n=843), lung cancer (n=311), thermal ablation (n=300), etc.

The research on RFA for lung cancer has formed a complete innovation chain of "technology evolution, safety verification, clinical practice, prognosis optimization", which is deepening from single ablation technology to multimodal combined treatment and molecular mechanism research. Interdisciplinary cooperation and the integration of emerging omics analysis promote the transformation of the field to evidence-based medicine. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen transnational cooperation network and focus on real-world long-term efficacy verification and drug resistance mechanism analysis, so as to accelerate the strategic upgrading of RFA from a local ablation technology to an individualized, interdisciplinary integrated treatment paradigm.