A bibliometric and visualized research on global trends of immune checkpoint inhibitors related complications in melanoma, 2011-2021

Hongyi Zhang; Yanlong Shi; Jianghui Ying; Yi Chen; Rong Guo; Xin Zhao; Lingling Jia; Jiachao Xiong; Fei Jiang

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1164692

A bibliometric and visualized research on global trends of immune checkpoint inhibitors related complications in melanoma, 2011-2021

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Apr 20:14:1164692. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1164692. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hongyi Zhang^{1

2}, Yanlong Shi³, Jianghui Ying¹, Yi Chen⁴, Rong Guo¹, Xin Zhao¹, Lingling Jia¹, Jiachao Xiong¹, Fei Jiang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plastic Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Breast Surgery, Yangpu Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Hepatopancreatobiliary Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, China.
⁵ Department of General Surgery, Fuyang Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Fuyang, China.

Abstract

Background: Melanoma is a malignant tumor that originates from the canceration of melanocytes with a high rate of invasiveness and lethality. Immune escape has been regarded as an important mechanism for tumor development, while the treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is beneficial in restoring and enhancing the body's anti-tumor immune response to kill tumor cells. To date, ICIs therapy has achieved remarkable efficacy in treating melanoma patients. Despite the significant clinical benefits of ICIs, multiple complications such as rashes, thyroiditis, and colitis occur in melanoma patients. In this study, we aim to explore the development process and trends in the field of ICIs-related complications in melanoma, analyze current hot topics, and predict future research directions.

Methods: We screened the most relevant literatures on ICIs-related complications in melanoma from 2011 to 2021 in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Using VOSviewer, CiteSpace and R language packages, we analyzed the research trends in this field.

Results: A total of 1,087 articles were screened, and the USA had the highest number of publications (publications = 454, citations = 60,483), followed by Germany (publications = 155, citations = 27,743) and Italy (publications = 139, citations = 27,837). The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center had the most publications, but the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute had the highest average citation rate. Lancet oncology (IF, 2021 = 54.43) was the most prominent of all journals in terms of average citation rate. Reference and keyword cluster analysis revealed that anti-tumor efficacy, adjuvant treatment, clinical response, clinical outcome, etc. were the hotspots and trends of research in recent years.

Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive summary and analysis of global research trends on ICIs-related complications in melanoma. Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of publications on this topic. However, the safety and benefits of retreatment after the recovery of ICIs-related complications remain unknown. Therefore,the establishment of related prediction models, as well as the immunotherapy of melanoma with ICIs in combination with other adjuvant therapies, are future research hotspots.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; complication; immune checkpoint inhibitor; immunotherapy; melanoma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bibliometrics
Cluster Analysis
Humans
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors* / adverse effects
Medical Oncology
Melanoma* / drug therapy

Substances

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Anhui Medical University (NO.2020xkj057).