Mapping the landscape and evolution of drug delivery for glioma: a bibliometric and visual analysis

This study aims to systematically analyze the intellectual landscape and evolving trends in glioma drug delivery research, and thematic shifts to inform future research directions.

A bibliometric analysis was performed on articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Data were retrieved via a systematic search using the Boolean query: TS=(("glioma" OR "glioblastoma" OR "GBM")) AND TS=("drug delivery"), covering the period from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2025. Data processing and visualization were conducted using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the Bibliometrix R package. Specifically, we analyzed publication metrics (volume, citations), geographical contributions (top countries, collaboration networks), author and institutional outputs (core authors, institutions), and thematic trends (keyword co-occurrence, theme classification). Key indicators including publication volume, citation impact, collaboration patterns, and thematic evolution were quantified to comprehensively characterize the research landscape of glioma drug delivery.

A total of 2,026 articles published in 446 journals were included, contributed by 11,135 authors. The field exhibited an annual growth rate of 6.39% and an international collaboration rate of 25.81%. China (811 articles) and the USA (291 articles) were the leading countries, with Fudan University (99 articles) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (65 articles) as the top institutions. The Journal of Controlled Release (101 articles) was the most productive journal, while ACS Nano demonstrated the highest per-article citation impact. Dominant research themes included glioblastoma, drug delivery, blood-brain barrier (BBB), nanoparticles, temozolomide, and emerging frontiers such as exosomes, immunotherapy, and engineered exosome-mediated delivery. The field showed a clear upward trend in the number of articles published annually from 2015 to 2025, with research focus evolving from conventional nanocarrier design and chemotherapy delivery toward advanced strategies including exosomes/extracellular vesicles, immunotherapy, and targeted BBB-penetrating delivery systems.

This bibliometric analysis demonstrates that glioma drug delivery research is steadily advancing toward precision theranostics with a maturing knowledge structure focused on intelligent nanocarriers. Global outputs are dominated by China and the United States, with research themes evolving from conventional nanocarriers to biomimetic systems, exosomes, and immunotherapy. Future studies may prioritize AI-assisted design and immunomodulatory strategies to address translational barriers. This work provides a comprehensive reference for guiding subsequent research in this field.