Knowledge Mapping of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Gastric Cancer Research: A Bibliometric Study from 2006 to 2025

Summary

This study employs bibliometric analysis to map the current research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in gastric cancer treatment and to further reveal the evolution of research hotspots.

Abstract

The study conducted a bibliometric analysis of 704 articles on traditional Chinese medicine for gastric cancer published between 2006 and 2025, using the Web of Science Core Collection WOSCC (literature database). Network analysis and visualization were performed using CiteSpace (bibliometric analysis software), VOSviewer (bibliometric mapping software), and Scimago Graphica (a free scientific data visualization application). From the perspectives of publication trends, collaborative networks, research themes, and the knowledge base, the study elucidates the current research landscape, core research forces, and the evolution of frontiers in this field. Over the past two decades, the number of publications continued to grow, reaching a historic peak of 102 in 2025. Articles published in the last decade account for over 75% of the total, indicating that this field is in an active research phase. China ranks first in publication volume (671 articles), total citations (13,447), and international collaboration centrality. Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine are the core research institutions. Major publication outlets include the Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Frontiers in Pharmacology. Keyword cluster analysis identified nine major research themes: Helicobacter pylori, acupuncture, Chinese herbal injections, network pharmacology, molecular docking, metabolomics, and others. Research hotspots evolved from basic mechanistic exploration to comprehensive treatment strategies, and further to systematic studies supported by emerging technologies. Molecular docking and epithelial-mesenchymal transition represent the current research frontiers.

Introduction

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive tract worldwide, with its incidence and mortality rates consistently ranking among the leading malignancies, posing a serious threat to human health¹. The disease often presents with insidious early symptoms, and most patients are already at an advanced stage at the time of initial diagnosis, missing the optimal window for curative surgery. Even with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the efficacy of conventional treatment modalities remains limited, and these approaches are frequently accompanied by severe adverse reactions that not only compromise patients' q....

Protocol

Data Acquisition and Search Strategy

A topic search was conducted in the literature database using Boolean logical operators. The search strategy was designed using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)- related concepts and free-text keywords adapted for the WOSCC database: "Stomach Neoplasms" for gastric cancer and "Medicine, Chinese Traditional" for traditional Chinese medicine, along with relevant entry terms. The search was limited to the "Topic" field. To comprehensively capture the broad literature on traditional Chinese medicine in gastric cancer research, two core research directions were prioritize....

Results

Annual Publication Output

An initial search yielded 724 records, which were refined to include only English-language articles and review articles, resulting in 704 publications: 548 articles and 156 review articles. From 2006 to 2025, the annual number of publications in traditional Chinese medicine for gastric cancer showed a fluctuating upward trend, reflecting a steady increase in research interest. The temporal evolution of research output can be categorized into three dis.......

Discussion

This study employs bibliometric methods to systematically delineate the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of gastric cancer over the past two decades. This analysis not only outlines the global research landscape but also identifies key contributors, emerging themes, and potential future research directions in this field.

Macro-Level Development Trends and Research Power Distribution

Over the past two decades, resea.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
CiteSpace	Chaomei Chen, Drexel University	6.4.R1 (https://citespace.podia.com/)	Used for constructing co-citation networks and analyzing keyword evolution.
VOSviewer	Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University	1.6.19 (https://www.vosviewer.com/)	Used for constructing and visualizing collaborative and co-occurrence networks.
Scimago Graphica	SCImago Lab	1.0.25 (https://graphica.scimagojr.com/)	Used for visualizing country/regional collaboration networks.
GraphPad Prism	GraphPad Software	10.1 (https://www.graphpad.com/)	Used for basic statistical analysis and figure preparation.
WPS Excel	Kingsoft Corporation	2023 (https://www.wps.com/)	Used for descriptive statistical analysis and data management.
Web of Science Core Collection	Clarivate Analytics	https://www.webofscience.com/	Literature database used for data acquisition and search strategy.