Global research trends and foci of ablation therapies for liver tumours: a scientometric study

Background: Ablation therapies have attracted sustained research interest in the management of liver tumours. This study aimed to systematically map global research trends, collaboration patterns, and the evolution of themes in liver tumour ablation using a scientometric approach. Methods: Publications related to liver tumour ablation were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Scientometric analyses, including network construction, co-authorship analysis, and keyword co-occurrence and burst detection, were conducted using VOSviewer and Citespace. Results: A total of 5,970 research articles between 1991 and 2022 were included. Publication output demonstrated continuous growth over the past three decades. The USA, China, Germany, Japan, and Italy were the most productive countries, with major contributions from institutions such as Sun Yat-sen University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Authors and journal analyses revealed concentrated collaboration networks and diverse publication venues. Keyword analysis identified "hepatocellular carcinoma" and "radiofrequency ablation" as central research themes. In contrast, more recent research attention has shifted toward outcome-related and integrative topics, including overall survival, irreversible electroporation, and immunotherapy. Conclusions: This scientometric study provides a data-driven overview of the global research landscape in liver tumour ablation, highlighting growth in publications, collaborative structures, and evolving research themes. The findings delineate emerging areas of scholarly attention and offer a structured foundation for future bibliometric investigations into research priorities and thematic development in this field.