Global research trends on the links between gut microbiota and cancer immunotherapy: A bibliometric analysis (2012-2021)

BACKGROUND: There is a crosstalk between gut microbiota (GM) and cancer immunotherapy (CI). The purpose of this study is to use bibliometric analysis to identify the highly cited papers relating to GM/CI and explore the research status and development trends of the GM/CI research. METHODS: A literature search regarding GM/CI publications from 2012 to 2021 was undertaken on July 4, 2022. The article titles, journals, authors, institutions, countries, total citations, keywords, and other information were extracted from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The Bibliometrix of R package and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis. RESULTS: A total of 665 papers were extracted. The number of papers has increased rapidly over the past decade, especially after 2018. The United States and China had the most publications and made great contributions to this field. Th5e Univ Texas MD Anderson Canc Ctr and Univ Paris Saclay were absolutely in the leading position in GM/CI. The most influential authors were Zitvogel L and Routy B. Frontiers in Immunology had the most publications and Science had the most total citations. Historical direct citation analysis explained the historical evolution in GM/CI. Highly cited papers and high-frequency keywords illustrated the current status and trends of GM/CI. Four clusters were identified and the important topics included the role of GM and antibiotics in CI, the methods of targeting GM to improve CI outcomes, the mechanism by which GM affects CI and the application of ICIs in melanoma. “Tumor microbiome”, “proton pump inhibitors” and “prognosis” may be the new focus of attention in the next few years. CONCLUSION: This study filtered global publications on GM/CI correlation and analyzed their bibliometric characteristics, identified the most cited papers in GM/CI, and gained insight into the status, hotspots and trends of global GM/CI research, which may inform researchers and practitioners of future directions.