The trends and hotspots of gut microbiota for breast cancer from 2005 to 2024: A bibliometric and visual analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor among women in the world, and it is also the most common cancer type that causes female deaths. Accumulating evidence has indicated a close relationship between the gut microbiota (GM) and BC, encompassing aspects such as clinical diagnosis, carcinogenic mechanisms, and treatment. To date, no study has conducted a bibliometric analysis concerning BC and GM. Bibliometrics, as a methodological discipline for quantitative analysis of academic literature, is not only applied in basic medical research but also in clinical medical research. METHODS: A search for literature was conducted related to BC and GM in the Web of Science Core Collection database from January 1, 2005 to July 31, 2024. Tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint 2019, Microsoft Excel 2019, VOSviewer 1.6.20, and CiteSpace 6.3.R1, were used to visualize not only publishing trends but also hotspots. RESULTS: A total of 842 articles is included, including 456 articles and 386 reviews. Since 2016, the publishing industry has experienced rapid growth. As expected, the United States ranks highest in terms of literature quantity and average citation count. The University of Illinois is the most active institution, whereas the National College of Ireland receives the highest average number of citations. The 3 researchers with the greatest influence are Bai, Peter, Miko, Edit, and Ujlaki, Gyula. The International Journal of Molecular Science has accounted for the largest number of publications, while Science ranked as the most highly cited journal. According to keyword and topic analyses, "quality of life" and "tumor microenvironment" will be the hotspots and frontiers of future research. CONCLUSION: Overall, this field is receiving increasing attention. We found that the future research hotspots of BC/GM may focus on the mechanisms of tumor occurrence, microbiota combination therapy, and the development of new predictive biomarkers, providing effective suggestions and new insights for scholars.