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Franco P, Segelov E, Johnsson A, Riechelmann R, Guren MG, Das P, Rao S, Arnold D, Spindler KLG, Deutsch E, Krengli M, Tombolini V, Sebag-Montefiore D, De Felice F. A Machine-Learning-Based Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Literature on Anal Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14071697. [PMID: 35406469 PMCID: PMC8996998 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14071697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus, being a rare cancer, requires national and international collaborations, networking, organizational proficiency and leadership to overcome barriers towards the implementation of clinical trials to establish improved standards of care treatment strategies and the conduction of translational research projects to shed light into its biology and molecular characterization. The purpose of the present study is to obtain a global frame of the scientific literature related to anal cancer, through a bibliometric analysis of the published articles during the last 20 years (2000–2020), exploring trends and common patterns in research, tracking collaboration and networks to foresee future directions in basic and clinical research. Abstract Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus (ASCC) is a rare disease. Barriers have been encountered to conduct clinical and translational research in this setting. Despite this, ASCC has been a prime example of collaboration amongst researchers. We performed a bibliometric analysis of ASCC-related literature of the last 20 years, exploring common patterns in research, tracking collaboration and identifying gaps. The electronic Scopus database was searched using the keywords “anal cancer”, to include manuscripts published in English, between 2000 and 2020. Data analysis was performed using R-Studio 0.98.1091 software. A machine-learning bibliometric method was applied. The bibliometrix R package was used. A total of 2322 scientific documents was found. The average annual growth rate in publication was around 40% during 2000–2020. The five most productive countries were United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), France, Italy and Australia. The USA and UK had the greatest link strength of international collaboration (22.6% and 19.0%). Two main clusters of keywords for published research were identified: (a) prevention and screening and (b) overall management. Emerging topics included imaging, biomarkers and patient-reported outcomes. Further efforts are required to increase collaboration and funding to sustain future research in the setting of ASCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierfrancesco Franco
- Department of Translational Medicine (DIMET), University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy;
- Department of Radiation Oncology, “Maggiore della Carità” University Hospital, 28100 Novara, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0321-3733424; Fax: +39-0321-3733698
| | - Eva Segelov
- School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Clayton 3168, Australia;
- Department of Oncology, Monash Health, Clayton 3168, Australia
| | - Anders Johnsson
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Radiation Physics, Skåne University Hospital, 22002 Lund, Sweden;
| | - Rachel Riechelmann
- Department of Clinical Oncology, AC Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo 01000-000, Brazil;
| | - Marianne G. Guren
- Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, 0316 Oslo, Norway;
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Prajnan Das
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Sheela Rao
- GI Unit, Royal Marsden Hospital, London SW3 6JJ, UK;
| | - Dirk Arnold
- Asklepios Tumorzentrum Hamburg, AK Altona, 22763 Hamburg, Germany;
| | | | - Eric Deutsch
- Institute Gustave Roussy, 94805 Villejuif, France;
| | - Marco Krengli
- Department of Translational Medicine (DIMET), University of Eastern Piedmont, 28100 Novara, Italy;
- Department of Radiation Oncology, “Maggiore della Carità” University Hospital, 28100 Novara, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Tombolini
- Radiation Oncology, Policlinico “Umberto I” and Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (F.D.F.)
| | | | - Francesca De Felice
- Radiation Oncology, Policlinico “Umberto I” and Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (F.D.F.)
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