Global research trends in acupuncture for cancer pain: A bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND: In recent years, acupuncture has gained popularity in the management of cancer-related pain (CRP). This study aims to use bibliometric analysis to investigate the historical development, recent hotspots and research trends in this field. METHODS: The Web of Science Core Collection database was selected as the data source for this study to retrieve and obtain literature related to acupuncture and CRP. Data analyses were performed with CiteSpace and VOSviewer to conduct the bibliometric analysis. RESULTS: This bibliometric analysis was conducted from 2000 to 2022. A total of 664 publications were included in this work. The number of publications has steadily increased over the last 2 decades. The United States has the largest number of published articles (244 papers), while the People’s Republic of China has the highest centrality (0.48). The primary research institutions were Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Kyung Hee University and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Mao Jun J. was the most prolific author, while Heather Greenlee was the most cited one. The most productive journal was Integrative Cancer Therapies. The most frequent keywords excluding the search subject were “electroacupuncture,” “management,” “quality of life,” “breast cancer,” “Aromatase inhibitor,” “neuropathic pain,” “mechanisms,” and “protocol.” CONCLUSION: This study explored the application value of acupuncture in the management of CRP with bibliometric analysis, offering an intuitive understanding of this topic and revealing the hotspots and research trends.