Bibliometric analysis of VR interventions in cancer research based on multiple databases: mapping research hotspots...

Virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly popular tool in cancer care over the years. It shows promise in areas like pain management, psychological support, surgical training, and rehabilitation. Even though more studies are being done, there has not been a thorough analysis of the research trends in this field. This study looks at how VR interventions in cancer research have evolved over the past two decades, identifies research hotspots, and explores future directions.

We collected publications related to VR in cancer research from the Web of Science Core Collection and Pubmed, covering the period from 2005 to 2025. Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software, we performed bibliometric and visual analyses. These included examining publication trends, contributions by countries and institutions, author collaboration networks, journal impact, keyword co-occurrence, and citation bursts.

A total of 1,259 publications from 110 countries were included. The number of publications fluctuated over time but generally increased, reaching its highest point in 2024 with 184 articles. The United States and China were the most active countries. Jordan had the highest average number of citations per paper. Among institutions, McGill University published the most papers, followed by the University of Toronto. The most productive journal was Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques, whilst Cancers and Supportive Care in Cancer showed the fastest growth. Main research themes included pain management, anxiety reduction, breast cancer, and surgical training. Emerging trends involve the combination of augmented reality (AR), digital health, and artificial intelligence (AI) with VR.

This study shows that VR research in cancer care is expanding worldwide, with most contributions coming from North America and Europe. Pain management remains the most common application. New technologies such as AR, AI, and telemedicine are becoming more integrated into VR interventions.