Mapping Cognitive Oncology: A Decade of Trends and Research Fronts.

Abstract

Background: Cognitive and neuropsychological effects of cancer and its treatments have gained increasing attention over the past decade, with growing evidence of persistent deficits across multiple cancer types. While numerous studies have examined these effects, the literature remains fragmented, and no comprehensive bibliometric synthesis has been conducted to map the field's intellectual structure and emerging trends.

Methods: A bibliometric and science mapping analysis was performed using the Scopus database to identify peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025 on neuropsychological or cognitive outcomes in adult cancer populations. Data from 179 eligible publications were analyzed with VOSviewer and Microsoft Power BI, applying performance metrics and network mapping techniques, including co-authorship, bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence analyses.

Results: Publication output increased steadily over the decade, with leading contributions from the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Psycho-Oncology, and Brain Imaging and Behavior. Co-citation analysis identified three core intellectual pillars: (i) clinical characterization of cancer-related cognitive impairment, (ii) mechanistic and neuroimaging-based investigations, and (iii) neurosurgical and neuropathological research in brain tumors. Keyword mapping revealed emerging themes in sleep and circadian rhythm research, biological contributors to cognitive decline, and scalable rehabilitation strategies such as web-based cognitive training. Collaborative networks, while showing dense local clusters, remained moderately fragmented across disciplines.

Conclusions: This review provides the first quantitative, decade-spanning map of cognitive oncology research, highlighting both consolidated knowledge areas and underexplored domains. Future efforts should prioritize methodological standardization, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and integration of cognitive endpoints into survivorship care, with the ultimate aim of improving functional outcomes and quality of life for cancer survivors.