The top 100 most impactful articles and recent trends in nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 1970 to 2018: a bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE: To identify the top 100 most impactful articles in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Articles on NPC from 1970 to 2018 were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS). These articles were ranked in descending order based on the number of times they were cited, and all titles and abstracts were screened to identify the top 100 most-cited articles. RESULTS: The earliest and most recent articles were published in 1971 and 2016, respectively. The most prolific decade was the 2000s, with 51 articles published. The highest citation count reached 1223 and the lowest was 155. Thirty-four journals contributed to the 100 articles, with the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics contributing the most articles (n=16). Notable contribution origins were Hong Kong (n=34), the United States (n=26), and China (mainland, n=12). The top three contributors were Chan ATC, Lee AWM, and Lo KW who were from Hong Kong. The types of articles included basic research (n=50), clinical research (n=36), and reviews (n=14). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the top 100 most impactful articles in NPC and stressed the multidisciplinary and multimodal nature of NPC management. Understanding historical articles may guide future NPC study.