Bibliometric analysis of ovarian cancer immune evasion research from 2015 to 2024

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Ovarian cancer presents a significant challenge due to its lethality and poor response to immunotherapy, largely attributed to immune evasion mechanisms.
• Understanding global research trends in ovarian cancer immune evasion is crucial for advancing treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map and analyze global research trends in ovarian cancer immune evasion from 2015 to 2024.
• To identify key themes, emerging hotspots, and collaboration patterns in this research field.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of publications from Web of Science and Scopus databases (2015-2024).
• Utilized bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace for analyzing productivity, collaboration, keywords, thematic clusters, and burst terms.
• Included English articles and reviews, with records merged and deduplicated.

Main Results:

• A total of 496 publications from 202 sources were identified, demonstrating a significant annual growth rate of ~24.6%, with accelerated growth post-2020.
• The United States and China were leading contributors, but international collaboration remained limited.
• Key research themes included immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment remodeling, immune checkpoint regulation, resistance mechanisms, and genetic/epigenetic modulation.
• Emerging research hotspots identified tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and STAT3-centered signaling as critical drivers of immune suppression and therapeutic resistance.

Conclusions:

• Research on ovarian cancer immune evasion is rapidly expanding, with a clear shift towards identifying actionable targets and combination therapies.
• Strengthening international research collaboration is essential.
• Focusing on interventions targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) and STAT3/TAM pathways holds promise for accelerating translation and improving immunotherapy efficacy.