Bibliometric analysis of programmed cell death and immunogenic cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma immunotherapy: global trends and future directions

Immunotherapy has become a prominent research focus in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, particularly through immunogenic cell death (ICD), a specialized form of programmed cell death (PCD), to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Although there is a wealth of research in this field, there is a lack of bibliometric analysis to fill the gap in understanding global research trends, key hotspots, and future research directions.

This study employed bibliometric analysis using data from the Web of Science database, analyzing 958 publications from 2000 to 2024. The inclusion criteria were: (1) articles and review articles published in English, and (2) studies focusing on the role of PCD and ICD in HCC immunotherapy. Publications that were not articles or review articles were excluded. Visualization tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the bibliometrix R package were used.

The analysis included 52 countries, 1,176 institutions, and 5,453 authors, with publications spread across 343 journals. Since 2020, research volume has surged, indicating increased academic interest in this area. China led in publication output, with Zhejiang University being the most prolific institution. Frontiers in Immunology published the highest number of articles, while Cancer Research had the highest number of co-citations. Feng Zhang was the most prolific author, while J-M. Llovet had the highest number of co-citations. Key research hotspots include PCD and ICD mechanisms, immune microenvironment, tumor immune evasion, drug resistance, adoptive immunotherapy, and combination therapies. Future studies are expected to focus on immune evasion, tumor microenvironment regulation, novel cell death mechanisms, and personalized immunotherapy.

This study analyzes the literature on the role of PCD and ICD in HCC immunotherapy, revealing global research trends and current hotspots, and provides valuable guidance for future research directions.