Global Research Trends on the Links Between the Oral Microbiome and Cancer From 2014 to 2024: A Visualization Analysis

Abstract

Background: In recent years, noteworthy connections have been discovered between human wellness and microbiota. This study aims to outline the hotspots and trends in the links between the oral microbiome and cancer over the past 10 years from a bibliometric perspective. Methods: Reports on original research and literature reviews on the relationship between the oral microbiome and cancer from 2014 to 2024 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed databases. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were utilized to display the research patterns. Results: A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 4638 relevant publications, of which 3450 research articles and 1188 reviews were examined. China and the United States have contributed greatly to the research on the relationship between the oral microbiota and cancer, most of which were published in Frontiers in Microbiology, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, and International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (107), Sichuan University (81), and Zhejiang University (79) are the most productive institutions. Zhou Xuedong, Hao Zhang, and Christian C. Abnet are the most recognized authors. Keyword co-occurrence revealed that the terms microbiome, oral microbiota, oral cancer, inflammatory diseases, probiotics, and dysbiosis are research hotspots in the past 10 years. Conclusions: The knowledge map provides a helpful visual representation of the main relevant topics in research conducted in the last 10 years on the relationship between the oral microbiome and cancer. The findings imply that oral squamous cell carcinoma, F. nucleatum, biomarkers, dysbiosis, and cancer treatment therapies have become popular topics in recent years.