Bibliometric and visual analysis of drug-specific immunotherapy from 1990 to 2024

Cui, Z., Chen, X., Zhai, S. et al.  Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-025-04073-3

Abstract

Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is key in allergic diseases, tumor immunity, and autoimmune regulation. In recent years, the mechanism of action of drugs in SIT has attracted much attention, including the induction of hypersensitivity responses and modulation of immune tolerance. However, scientific challenges remain regarding their mechanism of action and optimization strategies. Studies on pharmacological SIT have been accumulated in the past, and there is an urgent need for bibliometric analyses to review and prospect these results for future academic development. Strict search criteria were developed to screen and download literature information from the Web of Science Core Collection. Six elements of the included literature were analyzed and visualized using Citespace, VOSviewer software, and the Bibliometrix package. A total of 682 publications related to the drug SIT were included in this study. The growth trend in the number of publications is evident and entering a new phase with great potential for the future, with the highest total number of citations in 1998. The countries and institutions with the most publications were the USA and the University of Genoa. The author who contributed the most to the field was Incorvaia, Cristoforo. Moreover, Bousquet J was the most influential author. Allergy was considered the leading core source journal, and the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is the most influential. The reference with the highest outbreak intensity is Roberts G, 2018, Allergy, V73, P765, https://doi.org/10.1111/all.13317. The analysis of the keywords by the various metrics shows that the research hotspot is the tumor-associated SIT, the cutting-edge topic is the mechanism of action of the drug AIT, and the respiratory SIT application is the cutting-edge hot issue. Drug SIT has made good progress with the joint participation of global research institutions, scientists, and various journals. However, cooperation and communication are weak, and it is necessary to build a new cooperation mode to promote the globalization of research results. We have found the research hotspots and cutting-edge issues in this field, which will guide us to make breakthroughs in a more precise direction and play the important role of drug safety in safeguarding human life and health.

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