Global trends and hotspots in bladder cancer: A bibliometric analysis (2016-2025).

Abstract

Introduction: Bladder cancer research has experienced a rapid increase in publication output with the emergence of new themes in diagnosis and treatment. The expanding literature makes it challenging to identify overarching trends and key developments. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis is warranted to systematically evaluate global research patterns, thematic evolution, and influential contributions within this dynamic field.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database to retrieve articles and reviews on bladder cancer published between 2016 and December 2025. The search was performed in titles, abstracts, and keywords using predefined bladder cancer-related terms. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix package in R.

Results: Between 2016 and 2025, a total of 49,014 publications related to bladder cancer, limited to Articles and Reviews indexed in Scopus, were included in the bibliometric analyses. The most frequent terms in bladder cancer research over the past 10 years were urothelial carcinoma, cancer immunotherapy, prognosis, biomarkers, chemotherapy, and radical cystectomy. The most cited terms included survival, cancer immunotherapy, and tumor microenvironment, and trending topics were tumor microenvironment, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Thematic mapping identified one motor theme (urothelial carcinoma, chemotherapy, radical cystectomy) and two niche themes, including "cell cycle," "metastasis," and "apoptosis," and "mortality," "upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma," and "meta-analysis."

Conclusions: Frequent keywords such as biomarkers, prognosis, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, chemotherapy, and radical cystectomy, together with highly cited and recently prominent terms including tumor microenvironment and immune checkpoint inhibitors, reflect areas of substantial research activity and evolving scientific interest. Thematic evolution analyses further indicate changing patterns in keyword co-occurrence over time, particularly for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma, and meta-analysis. The translation of these trends into clinical practice requires further evidence synthesis, clinical trials, guideline evaluation, and broader stakeholder input.