Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, 162-8601, Japan.
Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Japan.
Ther Innov Regul Sci. 2022 Mar;56(2):230-243. doi: 10.1007/s43441-021-00351-3. Epub 2021 Nov 22.
Certain innovative technologies applied to medical product development require novel evaluation approaches and/or regulations. Horizon scanning for such technologies will help regulators prepare, allowing earlier access to the product for patients and an improved benefit/risk ratio. This study investigates whether citation network analysis and text mining of scientific papers could be a tool for horizon scanning in the field of immunology, which has developed over a long period, and attempts to grasp the latest research trends. As the result of the analysis, the academic landscape of the immunology field was identified by classifying 90,450 papers (obtained from PubMED) containing the keyword "immune* and t lymph*" into 38 clusters. The clustering was indicative of the research landscape of the immunology field. To confirm this, immune checkpoint inhibitors were used as a retrospective test topic of therapeutics with new mechanisms of action. Retrospective clustering around immune checkpoint inhibitors was found, supporting this approach. The analysis of the research trends over the last 3 to 5 years in this field revealed several candidate topics, including ARID1A gene mutation, CD300e, and tissue resident memory T cells, which shows notable progress and should be monitored for future possible product development. Our results have demonstrated the possibility that citation network analysis and text mining of scientific papers can be a useful objective tool for horizon scanning of life science fields such as immunology.
某些应用于医疗产品开发的创新技术需要新的评估方法和/或法规。对这些技术进行前瞻性扫描有助于监管机构做好准备，使患者更早地获得产品，并提高效益/风险比。本研究探讨了基于文献的引文网络分析和文本挖掘是否可以作为一种工具，用于对免疫学这一长期发展的领域进行前瞻性扫描，并试图掌握最新的研究趋势。作为分析的结果，通过将包含关键字“immune* and t lymph*”的 90450 篇论文（从 PubMED 获得）分类为 38 个聚类，确定了免疫学领域的学术格局。聚类反映了免疫学领域的研究格局。为了证实这一点，将免疫检查点抑制剂作为具有新作用机制的治疗药物的回顾性测试主题。发现了围绕免疫检查点抑制剂的回溯聚类，支持了这种方法。对该领域过去 3 至 5 年的研究趋势进行分析后，发现了几个候选主题，包括 ARID1A 基因突变、CD300e 和组织驻留记忆 T 细胞，这些主题显示出显著的进展，应加以监测，以便未来可能进行产品开发。我们的研究结果表明，基于文献的引文网络分析和文本挖掘可以成为一种有用的客观工具，用于对免疫学等生命科学领域进行前瞻性扫描。
