Landmark studies in radiation oncology: Has the pattern of publication changed?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify current pattern of publication of the most influential radiation oncology research, and to compare these to previous pattern. From several potential measures of impact and relevance of research, we selected article citation rate because landmark or practice-changing research is likely to be cited frequently. The citation database Scopus was used to identify the 100 most frequently cited articles published between 2009 and 2011, and 1999-2001, respectively. Current top 100 articles achieved a median of 57 citations (range 181-38). Top 100 articles from the time period 1999-2001 achieved a median of 208 citations (range 1149- 121). The number of authors per highly cited article has increased significantly. Recently, 58% of articles were written by more than 10 authors (1999-2001: only 25%). Significantly fewer articles were published by authors from the US and/or Canada (53% versus 73%). Pure European contributions increased from 20% to 33%. The proportion of publications related to breast, lung or lower gastrointestinal tract cancer increased, while that related to prostate or gynecological cancer decreased significantly. Irrespective of time period, pattern of publication was dominated by only two scientific journals: the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics. Several newly launched journals have managed to attract highly cited articles. Fifteen of the 20 journals (75%) that featured top 100 articles from the time period 1999-2001 were no longer represented on the recent top 100 list. Inspite of changing pattern of publication, relatively few well established journals dominate. © 2013 Nieder C, et al.