Cheng Kunming, Li Wanqing, Wu Haiyang, Li Cheng
Department of Intensive Care Unit, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Department of Operating Room, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, China.
Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Dec 4;10:1302016. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1302016. eCollection 2023.
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) constitute an important component of the tumor microenvironment, participating in various facets of cancer advancement and being recognized as contributors to tumor immune evasion. The role of CAFs in various tumor types has attracted increasing attention recently. In this work, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to uncover research trajectories and highlight emerging areas in the field of CAFs. A systematic search was performed within the Web of Science Core Collection to identify articles/reviews on CAFs published between 2000 and 2023. Leveraging advanced bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and online website, we examined and visualized publication trends, geographic contributions, institutional affiliations, journal prominence, author collaborations, and noteworthy references, keywords, and genes. Our analysis included 5,190 publications, indicating a rapid growth trend in both annual publications and citations related to CAFs. China and the United States emerged as the foremost contributors in terms of publications, funding agencies, and international collaborations. Breast cancer was the most studied tumor, followed by colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. Based on co-occurrence and bursting keywords, we identified the following research topics including immune cells (T cells, B-cells, tumor-associated macrophages), tumor immune microenvironment (antitumor immunity, immune infiltration, immunosuppression), immunotherapy (PD-L1), microRNAs (miRNA), extracellular vesicles (exosome), multiple tumors (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, bladder cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma), antitumor agents (gemcitabine, cisplatin resistance), bioinformatics (pan-cancer), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (stemness), FAPI PET/CT, DNA methylation, etc., may receive sustained attention in the future. Furthermore, TGFB1, IL-6, TNF, TP53, and VEGFA emerged as the top 5 genes that have garnered the greatest research attention in the field of CAFs. The KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted that the top 20 most studied genes were mainly associated with HIF-1 and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways. In sum, our bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive overview of the research landscape in the field of CAFs. It encompasses the current state, evolving patterns, and prospective avenues of exploration, with special attention to the potential advancements in tumor immune microenvironment.
癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAFs）是肿瘤微环境的重要组成部分，参与癌症进展的各个方面，并被认为是肿瘤免疫逃逸的促成因素。近年来，CAFs在各种肿瘤类型中的作用日益受到关注。在本研究中，我们进行了全面的文献计量分析，以揭示CAF领域的研究轨迹并突出新兴领域。我们在科学网核心合集内进行了系统检索，以识别2000年至2023年间发表的关于CAFs的文章/综述。利用VOSviewer、CiteSpace等先进的文献计量工具以及在线网站，我们对发表趋势、地理贡献、机构隶属关系、期刊影响力、作者合作以及值得注意的参考文献、关键词和基因进行了审视和可视化展示。我们的分析涵盖了5190篇出版物，表明与CAFs相关的年度出版物和引用量均呈快速增长趋势。在出版物、资助机构和国际合作方面，中国和美国是最重要的贡献者。乳腺癌是研究最多的肿瘤，其次是结直肠癌、胰腺癌、前列腺癌和胃癌。基于共现和突发关键词，我们确定了以下研究主题，包括免疫细胞（T细胞、B细胞、肿瘤相关巨噬细胞）、肿瘤免疫微环境（抗肿瘤免疫、免疫浸润、免疫抑制）、免疫治疗（PD-L1）、微小RNA（miRNA）、细胞外囊泡（外泌体）、多种肿瘤（胰腺导管腺癌、膀胱癌、头颈部鳞状细胞癌）、抗肿瘤药物（吉西他滨、顺铂耐药）、生物信息学（泛癌）、上皮-间质转化（干性）、FAPI PET/CT、DNA甲基化等，这些主题未来可能会持续受到关注。此外，TGFB1、IL-6、TNF、TP53和VEGFA成为CAF领域研究关注度最高的前5个基因。KEGG富集分析突出显示，研究最多的前20个基因主要与HIF-1和Toll样受体信号通路相关。总之，我们的文献计量分析提供了CAF领域研究概况的全面概述。它涵盖了当前状态、演变模式和未来探索途径，特别关注肿瘤免疫微环境的潜在进展。
