Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis

Abstract Objectives This study charted how investigations of tumour-microenvironment (TME) dynamics have shaped global thinking on drug resistance in breast cancer over the past three decades. Methods Web of Science Core Collection records (1995–2024) were harvested on 15 May 2025 with a three-block...

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Main Authors: Zuoping Duan, Yonghong Zhou, Yang Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-08-01
Series:Discover Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-03324-2
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author Zuoping Duan
Yonghong Zhou
Yang Wu
author_facet Zuoping Duan
Yonghong Zhou
Yang Wu
author_sort Zuoping Duan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objectives This study charted how investigations of tumour-microenvironment (TME) dynamics have shaped global thinking on drug resistance in breast cancer over the past three decades. Methods Web of Science Core Collection records (1995–2024) were harvested on 15 May 2025 with a three-block Boolean string integrating disease, microenvironmental, and resistance terms. After duplicate removal, document-type filtering, language restriction, and natural-language adjudication, 1 303 original articles and reviews remained. Bibliometrix (R 4.3.2) generated annual output, citation kinetics, and growth rates; VOSviewer (fractional counting, resolution = 1.0) mapped co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword networks. Results Publication volume expanded at a compound annual rate of 18.7%, progressing through formative (1995–2004), consolidation (2005–2012), and expansionary (2013–2024) epochs. Keyword drift traced a pivot from endocrine-centric lexicons (“tamoxifen”, “estrogen receptor”) to TME-immune discourse (“extracellular vesicles”, “tumour-associated macrophages”, “nanoparticles”); “microenvironment”, “hypoxia”, and “multidrug resistance” emerged as high-betweenness semantic bridges. The United States–China dyad accounted for 56.1% of output and anchored 24.4% of internationally co-authored papers, funnelling methodological innovation into an increasingly multipolar network, here defined as a collaboration graph containing at least four countries that each contribute ≥ 5% of total node-level betweenness centrality. Institutional overlays revealed late-decade ascendancy of East-Asian medical universities, while legacy North-American and European centres maintained brokerage dominance. Conclusion Bibliometric cartography documents a decisive ecological re-framing of breast-cancer drug-resistance research, with immune-stromal crosstalk supplanting receptor-centric models. Cross-border, multi-omics consortia that fuse East-Asian clinical scale with Western technological depth appear best poised to convert TME insights into resistance-reversing interventions.
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spelling doaj-art-799baf2cd6624472b1759479e5c6a1bc2025-08-20T04:02:55ZengSpringerDiscover Oncology2730-60112025-08-0116111910.1007/s12672-025-03324-2Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysisZuoping Duan0Yonghong Zhou1Yang Wu2Department of General Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of NeijiangDepartment of General Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of NeijiangDepartment of General Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of NeijiangAbstract Objectives This study charted how investigations of tumour-microenvironment (TME) dynamics have shaped global thinking on drug resistance in breast cancer over the past three decades. Methods Web of Science Core Collection records (1995–2024) were harvested on 15 May 2025 with a three-block Boolean string integrating disease, microenvironmental, and resistance terms. After duplicate removal, document-type filtering, language restriction, and natural-language adjudication, 1 303 original articles and reviews remained. Bibliometrix (R 4.3.2) generated annual output, citation kinetics, and growth rates; VOSviewer (fractional counting, resolution = 1.0) mapped co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword networks. Results Publication volume expanded at a compound annual rate of 18.7%, progressing through formative (1995–2004), consolidation (2005–2012), and expansionary (2013–2024) epochs. Keyword drift traced a pivot from endocrine-centric lexicons (“tamoxifen”, “estrogen receptor”) to TME-immune discourse (“extracellular vesicles”, “tumour-associated macrophages”, “nanoparticles”); “microenvironment”, “hypoxia”, and “multidrug resistance” emerged as high-betweenness semantic bridges. The United States–China dyad accounted for 56.1% of output and anchored 24.4% of internationally co-authored papers, funnelling methodological innovation into an increasingly multipolar network, here defined as a collaboration graph containing at least four countries that each contribute ≥ 5% of total node-level betweenness centrality. Institutional overlays revealed late-decade ascendancy of East-Asian medical universities, while legacy North-American and European centres maintained brokerage dominance. Conclusion Bibliometric cartography documents a decisive ecological re-framing of breast-cancer drug-resistance research, with immune-stromal crosstalk supplanting receptor-centric models. Cross-border, multi-omics consortia that fuse East-Asian clinical scale with Western technological depth appear best poised to convert TME insights into resistance-reversing interventions.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-03324-2Drug resistanceBreast cancerTumour microenvironmentCell apoptosisTumor immunity
spellingShingle Zuoping Duan
Yonghong Zhou
Yang Wu
Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
Discover Oncology
Drug resistance
Breast cancer
Tumour microenvironment
Cell apoptosis
Tumor immunity
title Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
title_full Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
title_fullStr Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
title_full_unstemmed Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
title_short Mapping thirty years of tumour-microenvironment-driven drug resistance in breast cancer: a global bibliometric analysis
title_sort mapping thirty years of tumour microenvironment driven drug resistance in breast cancer a global bibliometric analysis
topic Drug resistance
Breast cancer
Tumour microenvironment
Cell apoptosis
Tumor immunity
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-03324-2
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