Research trends and hot topics of radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis: a bibliometric analysis and visualization...

Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF) is a common complication in patients with thoracic malignancies undergoing radiotherapy, characterized by poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. In recent years, the study of RIPF has attracted more attention. However, this area lacks a bibliometric analysis. This study uses bibliometric analysis to examine evolving trends and core themes in RIPF research from 2015 to 2025, while forecasting future research directions.

This paper conducted a search in the Web of Science and Scopus databases for publications on RIPF from 2015 to 2025. Bibliometric and visualization analyses were carried out using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the "bibliometrix" package in R, with particular attention to research output by countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords.

A total of 542 articles were identified in this study, with a steady increase observed in annual publications. China was the most productive country, and the United States was the core of international cooperation; the University of Maryland was the institution with the most publications and citations; the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics published the most papers. Keyword analysis indicates a shift from experimental exploration toward clinical optimization. Recently, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has emerged as a prominent focus of research.

Research on the prevention and treatment of RIPF holds significant clinical relevance and promising prospects. Future studies are expected to identify key regulatory nodes, refine intervention pathways, and facilitate the efficient translation of mechanistic insights into therapeutic strategies.