Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Macrophages in Liver Cancer from 2015 to 2024

Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Macrophages in Liver Cancer from 2015 to 2024 | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 7 May 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Macrophages in Liver Cancer from 2015 to 2024 Authors : Xusheng Zhang , Jiawei Wang , Wenyan Zhou , Bendong Chen Chen 0009-0001-5618-6962 [email protected] , and Qi Wang 0000-0003-2108-3266 Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174665008.86687526/v1 195 views 120 downloads Contents Abstract Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Background: Liver cancer is a malignant tumor, and macrophages play a crucial role in its progression. Research on macrophages in liver cancer is increasing, however, the field still lacks comprehensive and objective bibliometric analyses. Method: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on 4,664 papers related to macrophage research in liver cancer from 2015 to 2024, extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection using Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, Scimago Graphica, CiteSpace, and Microsoft Office Excel Professional Plus 2016. Visual analyses were performed on publication numbers, countries, institutions, collaborations, authors, journals, keywords, thematic trends, and cited references. Result: The study shows a rising research trend with increasing global publications annually. China led in publications and citations, and ” Frontiers in Immunology ” had the most publications. Keyword analysis highlighted ”expression” as a core focus, with four main clusters identified. ”Mice” had high burst intensity from 2015 to 2018, while recent hotspots included ”single-cell”, ”neutrophil extracellular traps”, and ”atlas”. Conclusion: This paper elucidates the global landscape and ongoing trends of macrophage research in liver cancer, highlighting the increasing number of investigations. China and the United States are significant leaders, but international cooperation should be strengthened. Further research is needed on the heterogeneity of macrophage functions, their interactions with tumor cells, and combined immunotherapy. 1. Introduction Liver cancer is the sixth most common malignant tumor and the fourth leading cause of death globally [1] . It originates mainly from liver hepatocytes, with a complex etiology that involves various factors such as chronic hepatitis B/C viral infection, liver cirrhosis, and harmful lifestyle factors (such as alcohol and tobacco use), as well as genetic and environmental factors. There are approximately 700,000 new cases of liver cancer globally annually, about 45% occurring in Asia [2] . According to ”Global epidemiology of liver cancer 2022: An emphasis on geographic disparities,” in 2022, there were approximately 866,136 new cases of liver cancer worldwide, with a crude incidence rate of 11.0/100,000 and an age-standardized incidence rate of 8.6/100,000. There were approximately 758,725 deaths related to liver cancer worldwide, with a crude death rate of 9.6/100,000 and an age-standardized death rate of 7.4/100,000 [3] . China is one of the countries with the highest liver cancer incidence and mortality rates worldwide. In 2022, China saw 389,000 new cases of liver cancer and 336,000 deaths, accounting for 46.7% of global cases [4] . Liver cancer is characterized by difficult diagnosis, low curability upon first diagnosis, poor prognosis, and high recurrence rates, with a global 5-year survival rate of only 3-5% [5-6] . There is, therefore, a need to gain a better understanding of the related mechanisms in the occurrence and progression of liver cancer for the purpose of enhancing early detection and disease interventions. Macrophages play an important role in the occurrence, development, and progression of liver cancer. Macrophages are mainly divided into M1 and M2 types, which have completely different roles in the development and progression of liver cancer. M1-type macrophages are pro-inflammatory macrophages, which mainly promote the occurrence and development of tumors by secreting pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and TNFα, and can also activate other immune cells, such as NK cells and T cells, to enhance the antitumor immune response [7] . M2-type macrophages are inhibitory macrophages, which can inhibit immune responses by secreting inhibitory factors such as IL-10 and hypoxia-inducing factor (HIF), promoting the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of tumors [8] . Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are one of the most common immune cells in the liver cancer microenvironment, and their polarization state is closely related to the progression of liver cancer [9] . The occurrence and development of liver cancer involve complex and diverse mechanisms, including signaling pathways and gene expression, epigenetic regulation, viral-related factors, and the tumor microenvironment [10] . Understanding the mechanisms deeply not only helps to uncover the pathogenesis of liver cancer but also provides an important basis for the development of new treatment strategies to improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients. However, up to now, the literature and data related to macrophages in liver cancer are relatively scattered, and bibliometric analysis is more conducive to researchers effectively grasping the main achievements of previous studies, extracting hotspots, and preparing for future prospective research. Bibliometrics places more emphasis on the quantification of the entire knowledge system. By analyzing existing quantitative literature, intuitive visual images can be used to predict the future development direction of a research field, systematically dissecting the research progress of various countries, institutions, authors, and disciplines. Only a few researchers have provided a comprehensive and quantitative estimation of scientific outputs in the field of macrophage research in hepatocellular carcinoma through bibliometrics. Therefore, this paper aims to comprehensively and objectively analyze relevant literature indicators on the research of macrophages in hepatocellular carcinoma through bibliometric methods, elucidating the trends, hotspots, and directions of related research, and providing new ideas and clues for future research, diagnosis, and treatment of macrophages in hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials and methods 2.1 Data collection The literature compilation extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), specifically from the Science Citation Index Expanded, assembles comprehensive citation and publication information across various scientific fields. 2.2 Search strategies All published papers are from WoSCC. The researchers identified related articles published between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2024, using the following search strategy: TS = ((Liver cancer) AND (Macrophage)) OR TS = ((HCC) AND (Macrophage)) OR TS = ((Hepatocellular carcinoma) AND (Macrophage) AND publication year = (2015–2024) AND document type = (articles and comments) AND language = (English)). After an initial data search, the researchers (Qi Wang) screened all manuscripts to ensure their relevance to the subject of this study, with any discrepancies resolved by the experienced corresponding author (Bendong Chen). The flowchart of the study is depicted in Figure 1. All publications, including publication year, title, author names, institutions, country/region, abstract, keywords, and the name of the publishing journal, were exported and saved as plain text files, accompanied by ”full record and cited references,” for further bibliometric analysis. Figure 1. Flowchart of the study. 2.3 Bibliometric analysis The bibliometric analysis proceeds in a manner that transitions from the general to the specific, encompassing an examination of national and regional aspects, institutional and author contributions, journal dissemination, document and reference counts, keyword usage, and current trends. Subsequently, the compiled data were imported into various analytical tools: Biblioshiny (R version 4.3.3), VOSviewer (version 1.6.20), Scimago Graphica (version 1.0.41), CiteSpace (version 6.3. R1), and Microsoft Office Excel Professional Plus 2019 (Redmond, WA, USA) for detailed analysis. Results 3.1 Overall publication of global literature The study’s methodology is illustrated in Figure 1. The analysis included 4,664 articles focused on macrophage research in liver cancer. These studies are depicted in Figure 2. The data indicate that 205 publications were recorded in 2015, with a steady increase year over year, culminating in 806 articles by 2024, indicating an upward trend. The orange line chart depicts the average annual citations per article, which climbed steadily from 2015 to 2019, reaching a peak of 8.07 citations in 2019. Nevertheless, the trend thereafter exhibited a downward slope, dipping to 0.85 citations by 2024. In conclusion, the quantity of scientific articles in this area has risen, yet there has been a notable decline in the average citation count in subsequent years. This pattern may suggest that while the volume of research output is expanding, the impact of papers diminishes over time. Figure 2. Annual publication output and average annual citation frequency. 3.2 Analysis of countries/regions and institutions Figure group 3 presents an analysis of the publication counts across various countries to pinpoint those regions significantly contributing to the discipline. The top ten highest-producing countries/regions, as determined by publication volume and citation frequency, were evaluated according to the country of residence of the corresponding authors. China boasts the most relevant scientific research output, followed by the United States and Japan (Figure 3.A). Notably, China’s output has surged in recent years (Figure 3.B). Furthermore, the highest numbers of joint publications are those with authors from diverse nations and those among co-authors from the same country. China also takes the lead among participating countries/regions in terms of citations, with 65,449, closely followed by the United States with 31,607 citations (Figure 3.C). These results suggest that China and the United States are the primary contributors to the research area. The combined output of these two nations exceeds half of the global total. A geographical map depicting the distribution of publications and collaboration intensity across countries is presented in Figure 3.D, highlighting the active participation of China and the United States in international collaborations. Figure 4.A lists the top ten Chinese universities based on the number of published papers, with Fudan University leading with 605 publications. The university also exhibited the fastest growth rate in paper publications from 2015 to 2025 (Figure 4.B), followed by Sun Yat-sen University with 477 publications and Zhejiang University with 343 publications. The collaborative dynamics among academic institutions are illustrated through a network diagram (Figure 4.C), where nodes represent institutions, lines denote collaborative links between them, and line density indicates the degree of collaboration. The data indicate that Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University, and several other institutions engage in particularly frequent collaborations. Figure 3. Visualize and analyze active countries . (A) The top 10 countries with the highest output frequency, (B) the trend of changes in the number of articles produced by different countries between 2015 and 2025; (C) the top 10 countries with the most citations; (D) a map of international collaborations. Figure 4. Visualization of active institutions. (A) The top 10 institutions with prominent research output; (B) The changing trends in the number of papers produced by different institutions between 2015 and 2025; (C) Network diagrams showing the cooperative relationships among institutions within the relevant research field. 3.3 Authors and co-authors Figure 5.A depicts the top 10 most pertinent authors involved in the research on macrophages in liver cancer, led by Author Wang Y with a total of 91 published articles, followed by Li Y with 85 and Liu Y with 80, and the number of publications decreases as the change in authors. Among the top 10 authors, Liu Y made significant contributions to the field in 2023 (Figure 5.B). We used the H-index to measure the local influence of the authors, with Author Tacke F having the highest H-index of 28, followed by Wang Y with 26 (Figure 5.C). Figure 5.D presents the country of origin and the number of papers for corresponding authors, with the largest number of papers coming from China, followed by the United States and Japan, and so on. We mapped a network of co-cited authors (Co-cited Authors network graph) (Figure 5.E). Each node represents an author, different colors represent different clusters, and larger nodes represent more published papers. The lines between the nodes indicate the co-citation relationships between authors. It presents a network of co-cited associations between authors. Figure 5.F lists 15 authors with the highest citation burst intensity, showing their names, the starting year of the citation burst, intensity, and duration, among which the author with the highest citation burst intensity is Sica A, with a citation strength of 41.19, which started in 2015 and lasted until 2020. Figure 5. Visualization of active authors analysis. (A) Top 10 authors with the most publications; (B) Annual publication records of the top 10 authors from 2015 to 2025; (C) Top 10 authors ranked by local influence; (D) The distribution of corresponding authors among the top 20 countries in this field; (E) Network diagram showing the relationships among authors with the most citations; (F) Top 15 authors with the strongest sudden increase in citations. 3.4 Journal distribution Group 6 conducted an analysis of the journal distribution, publication time variability, associated influence, and citation trends for publications pertinent to macrophage research in liver cancer. Figure 6.A illustrates the primary sources of academic output in this domain, employing the Brad Law. The horizontal axis depicts journal titles, while the vertical axis displays the number of documents. The curve illustrates the distribution of articles across each journal. Notably, the shaded region identifies the major source of academic contributions. The journal ”Frontiers in Immunology” led in terms of publishing articles on macrophage research in liver cancer, followed by ”Frontiers in Oncology.” Between 2021 and 2025, the cumulative number of core publications in ”Frontiers in Immunology” far exceeded that of other journals (Figure 6.B). Furthermore, ”Frontiers in Immunology” held the highest local influence, evidenced by an H-index of 46, surpassing ”Hepatology.” This indicates their pivotal role in advancing research in this area (Figure 6.C). Figure 6.D visualizes the most frequently cited academic sources through nodes and lines, with each node representing a distinct source. The size and interconnectedness of nodes reflect the citation network and frequency of the sources. Figure 6. Visualization of journal distribution. (A) This analysis draws upon Brad Law’s foundational work to identify the core sources of critical literature; (B) The changing trend in the output of journal articles from 2015 to 2025; (C) The local impact of some literature sources; (D) Network diagrams of journals with a higher number of local citations. 3.5 Reference to common literature and co-citation of references The cited papers were ranked based on their citation statistics within the WOSCC. Figure 7.A depicts the top 10 publications, ordered by the number of citations they received, showcasing those with the highest citation rates globally. The papers with the greatest number of citations included ”Pancreatic cancer exosomes initiate pre-metastatic niche formation in the liver [11] ” with 1990 citations, ”Iron oxide nanoparticles inhibit tumour growth by inducing pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization in tumour tissues [12] ” with 1228 citations, and ”Bile acid-microbiota crosstalk in gastrointestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis [13] ” with 1168 citations. Additionally, a network diagram illustrating the reference co-citation relationships was depicted in Figure 7.B. The node colors and connecting lines denote the research trajectories of these documents as well as their co-citation patterns. The dataset was then analyzed to determine the top 15 references displaying the strongest citation bursts between 2015 and 2024, as delineated in Figure 7.C. Ordered chronologically according to citation trends, these 15 papers, including ”Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries [14] ” as the paper with the highest citation burst, and ”Alternatively activated (M2) macrophages promote tumour growth and invasiveness in hepatocellular carcinoma [15] ” as the one with the longest citation burst duration, underscore their substantial impact within the realm of research. Figure 7. Visualize and analyze reference analysis. (A) The top 10 most-cited authors and their respective journals and years of publication; (B) Network diagram of co-cited reference relationships; (C) Top 15 reference with the strongest citation bursts. 3.6 Keywords and trends Figure 8.A illustrates the most frequent keywords derived from the analyzed body of literature, depicted as a hierarchical tree diagram. The three most recurrent terms are ”expression,” ”cancer,” and ”hepatocellular carcinoma” (represented by larger rectangles in Figure 8A). These keywords encapsulate the thematic focus and identify key research areas within the field. Figure 8.B presents a trendline depicting the changes in frequency for these keywords across various years, allowing for a clear observation of their rising popularity over time. Keyword clusters delineate the frequency and distribution of paired keywords and signify the trajectory of research directions (Figure 8.C). The clusters encompass ”immune infiltration,” ”tumor microenvironment,” ”liver fibrosis,” and ”apoptosis.” Figure 8.D displays the top 15 keywords with the strongest citation burst intensity, which are designed to highlight the field’s current hotspots and emerging trends. The keyword ”mice” (from 2015-2018 with an intensity of 31.19) exhibits the highest citation burst intensity. The keyword ”immune infiltration” experienced a surge in citations, alongside the term ”promotes,” between 2021 and 2024. Similarly, ”sorafenib” experienced a citation surge from 2022 to 2024. Biblioshiny (Figure 9) analyzes the dynamic hotspots in the research domain, revealing that the most frequently occurring keywords between 2019 and 2021 were ”expression,” ”cancer,” and ”hepatocellular carcinoma,” mirroring those in Figure 8A and suggesting these as the leading edge of the field. Figure 8. Visualization of keywords analysis. (A) The hierarchical diagram of keywords; (B) Frequency accumulation of keywords over time; (C) Clusters of keywords; (D) Top 15 keywords with the strongest citation bursts. Figure 9. Visualize and analyze Trend Topics. Discussion Liver cancer represents a prevalent and clinically significant surgical condition, standing as one of the most life-threatening malignancies to human health. In China, it ranks second in mortality among malignant tumors, presenting substantial therapeutic challenges. The inflammatory microenvironment plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and progression of liver cancer [16] . Within the hepatic environment, inflammatory immunity progressively disrupts the liver’s internal architecture, ultimately leading to cirrhosis. The well-established hepatitis-cirrhosis-liver cancer sequence constitutes a common disease progression pathway, culminating in hepatocellular carcinoma [17] . Macrophages serve as crucial mediators in the establishment and maintenance of the tumor inflammatory microenvironment. Specifically, M1-type macrophages exert inhibitory effects on liver cancer progression through the induction of tumor cell dormancy [18] , while M2-type tumor-associated macrophages promote the expression of VEGF-A, MMP-9, and nuclear factor-κB within the tumor microenvironment, thereby facilitating hepatic carcinoma invasion and metastasis [19-20] . The polarization mechanism of macrophages in liver cancer involves a complex interplay of multiple signaling pathways and molecular regulations, with distinct macrophage subtypes playing differential roles in the initiation and progression of liver cancer. Comprehensive investigation into macrophage polarization mechanisms in liver cancer has provided novel therapeutic insights and approaches, leading to significant advancements in related research in recent years. As an emerging analytical methodology, bibliometrics offers valuable tools for assessing current research status and identifying trends in specific scientific domains. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of macrophage-related research in liver cancer from 2015 to 2024 using the WoSCC database, complemented by visual analysis of the international research landscape, providing researchers with critical insights into developmental trajectories and emerging research foci in this field. From 2015 to 2024, the annual publication output demonstrated steady growth, closely mirroring the global upward trend in liver cancer incidence. Recent data indicate both the morbidity and mortality rates of liver cancer worldwide have been rising. In 2017, there were 950,000 new global liver cancer cases, with 800,000 deaths—more than double the Figures recorded in 1990 [21] . Projections suggest that factors such as population aging, globalization, and economic growth may further intensify the global burden of liver cancer [22-23] . China dominates publications in this research field and has made significant contributions to macrophage research in liver cancer. Notably, the top 10 academic institutions with the most publications in this field are all Chinese, with Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University, and Zhejiang University ranking as the top three. This reflects China’s growing emphasis on macrophage-related research in liver cancer in recent years. The high publication output from China likely correlates with the country’s high liver cancer incidence (approximately 367,700 new cases in 2022) and mortality rate. According to 2022 data from China’s National Cancer Center, liver cancer ranks fourth in new cancer cases but second in both deaths and mortality rate [24] . This may stem from challenges in China’s liver cancer screening, including insufficient sensitivity and specificity of screening methods and low coverage among high-risk populations [25] . Moreover, implementing screening requires substantial medical and financial resources, yet China currently lacks a government-funded nationwide screening program for high-risk groups [26] . China also leads in average citation counts, far surpassing other countries. While the U.S. has fewer studies, it ranks highly among the most-cited articles, reflecting its research quality. Furthermore, the U.S. plays a central role in international collaborations, working closely with developed nations but less so with developing countries. Therefore, strengthening international cooperation to support developing countries is crucial. Articles related to macrophage research in liver cancer are most frequently published in Frontiers in Immunology, followed by Frontiers in Oncology and the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The top three journals by citation count are Frontiers in Immunology, Hepatology, and the Journal of Hepatology, with the latter being the highest-quality and most influential journal in the field, boasting the highest impact factor of 26.8. These leading journals are expected to remain pivotal publishing platforms for this research area in the future.The most-cited paper demonstrates that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is highly expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)-derived exosomes, promoting pre-metastatic niche formation and liver metastasis [11] . Elevated MIF levels have been observed in multiple human cancers [27] . Structurally, MIF comprises three subunits and interacts with cell surface receptors CD74, CD44, CXCR2, CXCR4, and CXCR7, facilitating tumor stem cell migration, invasion, metastasis, immune evasion, and tumorigenesis through various signaling pathways [28] . While the precise role and mechanisms of MIF in liver cancer warrant further investigation, its overexpression and correlation with tumor progression suggest its potential as a therapeutic target [29] . High-frequency keywords to some extent reveal the research hotspots in macrophage-related studies of liver cancer. The top three high-frequency keywords are ”expression,” ”cancer,” and ”hepatocellular carcinoma,” representing the most commonly used terms and research focuses on this field, with ”expression” emerging as the predominant research hotspot. The regulation of gene expression plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of cancer and constitutes one of the core topics in cancer research. The role of expression regulation in cancer research is multifaceted, encompassing various levels from gene expression and epigenetic modifications to non-coding RNA regulation. The occurrence and progression of cancer are often accompanied by abnormal gene expression, including the overexpression or suppression of genes. For example, in HCC tissues, the expression of p27 is positively correlated with SAMHD1 expression, and the overexpression of SAMHD1 can upregulate p27 expression, leading to cell cycle arrest in the G1/G0 phase, thereby inhibiting HCC cell proliferation [30] . Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, also play a significant role in cancer development. Gene methylation primarily occurs in CpG-rich regions, where corresponding methyltransferases regulate the expression of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA damage repair genes [31] . Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, also play crucial regulatory roles in cancer. miRNAs negatively regulate gene expression by binding to mRNA, inhibiting its translation or promoting its degradation [32] . Additionally, lncRNA CY-TOR is overexpressed in various cancers and regulates cancer progression through multiple pathways [33] . By investigating these regulatory mechanisms in greater depth, researchers can enhance their understanding of cancer development and develop new strategies for early diagnosis, precision therapy, and prognostic evaluation. By regulating macrophage differentiation and function, tumorigenesis, progression, and immune responses can be modulated. For instance, TWEAK stimulation upregulates miRNA-7 in macrophage-derived exosomes, suppressing the EGFR pathway in ovarian cancer cells and consequently inhibiting their invasion and migration [34] . TRIM59 regulates macrophage glucose metabolism, influencing HIF-1α expression to inhibit tumor growth [35] . The macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) enhances tumor invasiveness by upregulating MMP-9 and IL-8 expression in tumor cells [36] . These findings not only elucidate cancer development mechanisms but also identify novel therapeutic targets. Some studies demonstrate that short-term starvation (STS) reshapes the immune microenvironment to suppress hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. By promoting M1 macrophage polarization and reducing PD-L1 surface expression, STS enhances macrophage anti-tumor activity. This suggests potential synergy between STS and PD-L1 monoclonal antibody therapy in clinical immunotherapy [37] . Liver-nourishing traditional Chinese medicine downregulates HIF-1α and VEGF expression while reducing M2-type tumor-associated macrophage infiltration, thereby inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis [38] . Research on combined doxorubicin liposomes (Doxil) and clodronate disodium liposomes (CL-LIP) demonstrates that CL-LIP-mediated macrophage depletion enhances doxorubicin’s sustained release, improving drug delivery efficiency while reducing side effects. This approach shows promise as a postoperative anti-recurrence strategy [39] . These therapeutic approaches not only inhibit tumor growth and metastasis but also improve patient prognosis. Future research should explore optimal drug combinations and treatment modalities for more effective liver cancer therapy. Limitations This study has several limitations. First, our analysis was limited to the WoSCC database, which may have excluded important research in related fields not covered by this database. Second, we restricted our inclusion to English-language articles, leading to the omission of key studies published in non-English languages, which could potentially impact the overall findings. Third, our analysis was limited to bibliometric data and did not include detailed qualitative analysis of research content, which might have provided deeper insights into the topic. Fourth, citations may be influenced by temporal biases and older publications. Finally, although standardized data processing was conducted, the automated nature of our analytical tools could result in inaccurate keyword extraction and incomplete analysis of article content. However, the impact of these limitations on the overall trends of the study remains within an acceptable range. Conclusion This study employs bibliometric methods to systematically analyze the research landscape of macrophages in liver cancer, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and future trends in this field. Enhanced international collaboration could further accelerate progress by leveraging global scientific resources. Through rigorous scientific exploration, our research provides valuable perspectives on the mechanisms of macrophages within the inflammatory tumor microenvironment of liver cancer. This not only establishes a framework for subsequent mechanistic studies but also offers foundations for identifying effective treatment approaches. Future research should focus on elucidating pathogenic mechanisms and developing optimal combinations of different drugs and therapeutic strategies to achieve more effective treatments, ultimately benefiting liver cancer patients. Data availability statement The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors. Ethics and consent to Participate Not applicable. Clinical trial number Not applicable. Author contributions Xusheng Zhang: Investigation, Methodology, Writing original draft, Writing & editing, Software. Jianwei Wang: Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing original draft, Writing review & editing. Wenyan Zhou: Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing review & editing. Bendong Chen: Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Funding, Writing review & editing; Qi Wang: Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Writing review & editing. Funding This study was supported by the project ”Central Guidance for Local Science and Technology Development Special Project”, project number: 2024FRD05060. Conflict of interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Publisher’s note All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. References 1. LLOVET J M, KELLEY R K, VILLANUEVA A, et al. Hepatocellular carcinoma［J］. Nat Rev Dis Primers, 2021,7(1): 6. 2. Castelli, G., Pelosi, E., & Testa, U. (2017). Liver Cancer: Molecular Characterization, Clonal Evolution and Cancer Stem Cells. 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Keywords bibliometrics citespace liver cancer macrophages research trends web of science Authors Affiliations Xusheng Zhang Ningxia Medical University View all articles by this author Jiawei Wang Ningxia Medical University View all articles by this author Wenyan Zhou General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University View all articles by this author Bendong Chen Chen 0009-0001-5618-6962 [email protected] General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University View all articles by this author Qi Wang 0000-0003-2108-3266 General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 195 views 120 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Xusheng Zhang, Jiawei Wang, Wenyan Zhou, et al. Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Macrophages in Liver Cancer from 2015 to 2024. Authorea . 07 May 2025. 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