A bibliometric analysis of research trends in tumor-associated macrophages and breast cancer

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a pivotal role in breast cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to delineate the global research trends, collaborative networks, and emerging hotspots in the field of TAMs and breast cancer over the past two decades. Publications related to TAMs and breast cancer were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (2004–2026). Bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer (v1.6.20), CiteSpace (v6.4.R1), and the R package “Bibliometrix” (v4.5.3). A total of 2,253 articles were included, revealing a steady and significant increase in annual publications. While China emerged as the most productive country in terms of publication volume (909 articles), the United States led in citation impact (40,581 citations). Sun Yat-sen University was the most prolific institution. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified four primary research clusters: immunotherapy, TAM biology, molecular mechanisms, and prognostic significance. Temporal analysis demonstrated a clear thematic evolution, with early research focusing on foundational concepts like “angiogenesis” and “growth factor”. More recently, keyword burst analysis highlighted the current research frontier, with “triple negative breast cancer” (TNBC), “cancer immunotherapy”, “delivery”, “blockade”, “macrophage polarization”, “protein” and “metabolism” showing the strongest and most sustained activity since 2021. Our analysis reveals a clear research trajectory toward TAM-targeted nanomedicine and ICD, particularly for TNBC, identifying these as the dominant frontiers for future investigation.