The research hotspot and trend for traditional Chinese medicine treatment of lung adenocarcinoma: Based on bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE: This study employs VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, CiteSpace, and other software to conduct a visual atlas analysis of literature pertaining to the management of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) with Chinese medicine over the previous thirty years. The goal is to clarify research advancements, pinpoint key areas of interest, and predict future trends in this field, thereby offering a theoretical foundation and guidance for further studies on managing LUAD with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). METHODS: Literature on herbal treatments for LUAD collected from the Web of Science over the past 30 years (1990-2024) was exported in plain text format. Key nodes such as authors, institutions, countries, and journals were selected using VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and CiteSpace. This analysis facilitated the assessment of the growth of scientific research papers and identified the leading authors, institutions, countries, and journals. Furthermore, this study utilized network pharmacology to investigate the potential targets and mechanisms of action linked to the most frequently used herbal components in Chinese herbal treatments for LUAD. RESULTS: The annual publication count in this field has risen in recent years, with China and the United States dominating the research landscape. As the most concentrated region for cooperation, Asia has established extensive networks with other countries. This trend may indicate an increasing interest in the application of TCM for LUAD treatment. CONCLUSION: Afatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has become a significant focus of research in LUAD treatment over the last 5 years. However, its side effects, such as diarrhea, rash, and mucositis, have raised considerable concerns. In contrast, the multi-target and multi-signal pathway strategies of TCM have increasingly attracted interest. Astragali Radix and Prunellae Spica are the most commonly used Chinese herbs in LUAD therapeutic formulas. Enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology pathways revealed that their effects on LUAD are mainly linked to the regulation of apoptosis signaling pathways, enhancement of cell migration, response to lipopolysaccharides, inhibition of cell proliferation, and promotion of phosphorylation.