Research trends and prospects of Circulating tumor DNA associated with colorectal cancer: a bibliometric analysis

Recent research has highlighted ctDNA as a crucial tool for screening, monitoring, and treating colorectal cancer, gaining significant attention. This study aims to map the research landscape via bibliometric analysis, identifying future trends and key areas of interest. We collected articles and reviews on ctDNA and colorectal cancer from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus, conducting bibliometric analysis and visualization using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R packages. A total of 1,730 publications were included in the bibliometric analysis. Of these, 325 were unique to WOS and 639 were unique to SCOPUS. The United States and China led in publication volume with 555 and 306 papers, respectively, while the United States and Italy had the highest citation counts, with 39,142 and 21,417 citations, respectively. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was the most prolific institution. The journals Cancers and Frontiers in Oncology were the most frequently published. Bardelli A stood out as the most prolific and cited author. Cluster analysis revealed trending topics such as "minimal residual disease," "adjuvant chemotherapy," and "recurrence." This bibliometric analysis highlights significant advancements and emerging trends in the clinical application of ctDNA for colorectal cancer. The identified hotspots deserve further attention from researchers in this field.