Global trends of targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A bibliometric and visualized study from 2008 to 2022

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an exceedingly prevalent malignancy with an exceptionally poor prognosis. Targeted therapy is an effective treatment option for patients with advanced HCC. However, there have been no bibliometric analyses of targeted therapies for HCC. METHODS: This study aimed to assess the current status and future directions of targeted therapy for HCC to provide future scholars with clearer research contents and popular themes. Methods: Literature on targeted therapy for HCC from 2008 to 2022 was obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) and assessed using bibliometric methodology. Additionally, the VOS viewer was applied in the visualization study to conduct bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence analyses of publications. RESULTS: A total of 10,779 papers were subsequently selected. Over the past 15 years, there has been a progressive increase in the number of publications on an annualized basis. China released the most publications in the field, whereas the United States had the highest H-index. Cancers published the most papers. Fudan University had the greatest sway in this area. Studies could be divided into 5 clusters: “Gene and expression research,” “Mechanism study,” “Nanoparticle study,” “Targeted drug research,” and “Clinical study.” CONCLUSIONS: In the upcoming years, more papers on targeted therapy for HCC are expected to be released, demonstrating the potential for this topic to flourish. Particularly, “Clinical study” is the following trendy topic in this field. Other research subfields may likewise exhibit a continuous tendency towards balanced development.