Research frontiers of electroporation-based applications in cancer treatment: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Electroporation, the breakdown of the biomembrane induced by external electric fields, has increasingly become a research hotspot for its promising related methods in various kinds of cancers. Content: In this article, we utilized CiteSpace 6.1.R2 to perform a bibliometric analysis on the research foundation and frontier of electroporation-based applications in cancer therapy. A total of 3,966 bibliographic records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection for the bibliometric analysis. Sersa G. and Mir L. M. are the most indispensable researchers in this field, and the University of Ljubljana of Slovenia is a prominent institution. By analyzing references and keywords, we found that, with a lower recurrence rate, fewer severe adverse events, and a higher success rate, irreversible electroporation, gene electrotransfer, and electrochemotherapy are the three main research directions that may influence the future treatment protocol of cancers. Summary: This article visualized relevant data to synthesize scientific research on electroporation-based cancer therapy, providing helpful suggestions for further investigations on electroporation. Outlook: Although electroporation-based technologies have been proven as promising tools for cancer treatment, its radical mechanism is still opaque and their commercialization and universalization need further efforts from peers.