Global trends in tertiary lymphoid structures: a bibliometric analysis from 2014 to 2023

Yiwen Bao; Zeming Mo; Shuang Wang; Jinhua Long; Honghong Zhang; Yujun Xu; Honglian Jiang; Tianbao Qian; Zhu Zeng

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1475062

Global trends in tertiary lymphoid structures: a bibliometric analysis from 2014 to 2023

Front Immunol. 2024 Nov 15:15:1475062. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1475062. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yiwen Bao^#^{1

2}, Zeming Mo^#³, Shuang Wang^#^{1

2}, Jinhua Long⁴, Honghong Zhang^{1

2}, Yujun Xu^{1

2}, Honglian Jiang⁵, Tianbao Qian^{1

2}, Zhu Zeng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Microbio and Infectious Disease Prevention & Control in Guizhou Province, Key Laboratory of Infectious Immune and Antibody Engineering of Guizhou Province, Engineering Research Center of Cellular Immunotherapy of Guizhou Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
² Immune Cells and Antibody Engineering Research Center of Guizhou Province, Key Laboratory of Biology and Medical Engineering, School of Biology and Engineering, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
³ Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
⁴ Department of Head & Neck, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
⁵ Department of Nephrology, The People's Hospital of Qiannan, Duyun, Guizhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Aim and background: Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are increasingly recognized for their role in immunity. Despite growing interest, a systematic bibliometric analysis of TLS-related research has been lacking. To provide a comprehensive overview of current research trends and hotspots, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using data from the Web of Science Core Collection.

Methods: We retrieved TLS-related publications from the Science Citation Index Expanded within the Web of Science Core Collection from January 2014 to December 2023. Co-occurrence analysis with "VOSviewer" identified current status and research hotspots, while "CiteSpace" was used for co-citation analysis to assess knowledge evolution and bursts. Thematic evolution was explored using bibliometrics to identify emerging keyword trends. Additionally, we examined country/region, institutional, and author contributions and collaborations. Tables were created using Microsoft Word.

Results: A total of 785 publications were analyzed, showing a continuous growth trend from 2017 to 2023, indicating escalating interest in TLS among researchers. Leading countries in TLS research were China (231 publications), the United States (212 publications), and France (89 publications). The most productive institution and author were the "Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale" (70 publications) and Catherine Sautes-Fridman (21 publications), respectively. Key topics included TLS, B cells, and immunotherapy. Recent research has focused on mechanisms linking TLS with cancers, such as immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, prognosis, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, highlighting an expanding area of study. Additionally, TLS' potential as a biomarker for predicting immunotherapy efficacy across different cancer types remains a burgeoning research direction.

Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of global TLS-related publications, revealing key literature metrics and identifying influential articles and emerging research concerns. These findings contribute valuable insights into the role of TLS in immunotherapy and suggest future directions for this dynamic field.

Keywords: bibliometric; immunotherapy; prognostic value; research trend; tertiary lymphoid structures.