Current Perspectives and Trend of Acupuncture in Breast Cancer-Related Symptoms: A Bibliometric Study

Hanzhi Wang; Siying Qu; Tianshu Zhou; Qunqi Hu; Xiaoxuan Zhao; Qujia Yang; Hengyu Chi; Shiling Luo; Xinyue Li; Huanxiao Ke; Xiaofen He; Hongli Zhao

doi:10.2147/JPR.S442151

Current Perspectives and Trend of Acupuncture in Breast Cancer-Related Symptoms: A Bibliometric Study

J Pain Res. 2023 Dec 5:16:4165-4180. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S442151. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hanzhi Wang^#^{1

2}, Siying Qu^#², Tianshu Zhou^#³, Qunqi Hu², Xiaoxuan Zhao¹, Qujia Yang^{1

2}, Hengyu Chi², Shiling Luo¹, Xinyue Li⁴, Huanxiao Ke^{1

2}, Xiaofen He⁵, Hongli Zhao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Gynecology, Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
² Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
³ Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Department of Neurobiology and Acupuncture Research, The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: This bibliometric research aims to delineate global publication trends and emerging research interests in the use of acupuncture for breast cancer (BC)-related symptoms treatment over the past three decades. Furthermore, it identifies influential institutions, potential collaborative partners, and future research trends, thereby providing guidance for relevant, novel research directions.

Methods: Scientific publications related to acupuncture for BC-related symptoms were gathered from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from 1993 to 2023. Four software applications were principally used to analyze the resulting data: the "bibliometrix" package in the R environment (version 4.2.3), VOSviewer, CiteSpace6.1.R6, and the bibliometrics website. These applications were employed to evaluate different parameters.

Results: A total of 621 papers on acupuncture in BC-related symptoms treatment were analyzed. The United States, China, and South Korea contributed the most, with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Columbia University leading institutions. It is interesting to mention that Mao, Jun J. and Molassiotis, A. feature among the top 10 authors and co-cited authors. JAMA is the leading journal, with an ongoing focus on acupuncture's effectiveness. Keywords show that the initial research focus was mainly on "vasomotor symptoms", but in recent years there has been a gradual shift towards "pain", "chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)", "electroacupuncture", and "non-specific effects".

Conclusion: Acupuncture has demonstrated a unique value in the process of adjuvant treatment of BC-related symptoms, and has been shown to be effective in reducing pain, eliminating fatigue, and improving quality of life. The study of the mechanisms of acupuncture and the application of electroacupuncture are possible future research priorities in this field. This study offers a deep perspective on acupuncture for BC research, highlighting key points and future trends.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; acupuncture; bibliometric study; breast cancer-related symptoms; cancer pain.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81804181) and the Hangzhou Science and Technology Development Plan Project (No. 202004A13).