A bibliometric and visual analysis of PRMTs research publications for cancer (2006-2024)

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) have attracted considerable attention as potential targets for anticancer drug development. However, no bibliometric analysis of research articles on PRMTs in the field of oncology has been reported to date.

To establish a knowledge map of PRMTs and cancer, summarize the current status and collaborative patterns of related publications, and explore research hotspots and future development prospects.

Using defined topic terms and their corresponding free-text terms, we searched the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database for relevant publications from January 1, 2006 to September 7, 2024. CiteSpace was used to perform bibliometric analyses of countries, institutions, authors, cited journals, keywords, and references. NoteExpress was used to import, manage, and add references.

A total of 250 articles related to PRMTs and cancer were retrieved from WOSCC. Visual analysis showed a steady increase in the number of publications from 2006 to 2024. The United States had the highest centrality, whereas China had the highest publication count. The Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most productive institution. Mark T. Bedford was the most prominent and productive author. Cancer Cell had the highest centrality in this field. Based on keyword citation frequency, the leading research topics in current PRMTs and cancer studies were breast cancer, gene expression, coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1), androgen receptor, and coactivator.

Overall, PRMTs and cancer research represents a promising research direction, and members of the PRMT family have potential utility as cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets.