Bibliometric Analysis of the 100 Most Influential Hemangioblastoma Research Articles Illustrates Progress in Clinical Management and Room for Growth in Targeted Therapies

Abstract

Objective: This bibliometric analysis aims to identify the most impactful articles on hemangioblastoma (HB) and evaluate the trajectory of academic literature in the field.

Methods: The authors performed a title search using the Web of Science database, with ("hemangioblastoma" OR "haemangioblastoma") as a search query. The top 100 cited articles from the years 1900-2020 were sorted by the descending order of the total citation count. The following variables were assessed for each article: title, first author name and institution, publication year, country of origin, citation count, citations per year, and journal impact factor.

Results: The query yielded 1918 articles related to the topic of HB that were published between the years 1900 and 2020 in 42 unique journals. The most prolific decade of publication was the 2000s (35%), followed by the 1990s (33%) and the 1980s (11%). The average citation count was 88.3 (range, 47-426), and the mean number of citations per year was 3.74 (range, 0.660-17.8).

Conclusions: This is the first bibliometric analysis to evaluate the most influential HB publications. Though a majority of HBs are sporadic, these results suggest a research focus on von Hippel-Lindau-associated tumors. Despite established evidence for the potential to control HB growth with vascular endothelial growth factor inhibition, there are no known clinical trials underway for this investigation. There is a need for consistent treatment guidelines for asymptomatic HBs, as resection can prevent the development of neurological deficits. An improved understanding of the etiology of these neoplasms could promote the development of novel diagnostic and treatment methods.

Keywords: Hemangioblastoma; Natural history; Treatment; Tumorigenesis; Von Hippel-Lindau disease.