Research on surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer from 2009 to 2018: a bibliometric analysis

Background The objective of this study was to analyze the scientific outputs of surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods We explored the research topic from the Web of Science Core Collection for period 2009-2018. Based on Cite Space IV and VOS viewer, we explored distribution of time, journals, countries/ regions, institutions, authors, disciplines, keywords, and burst terms associated with this topic. Results According to an analysis of 3175 papers, the European Journal of Cardio Thoracic Surgery published the most papers and the United States contributed the most publications in this area. Albain KS from Loyola University occupied the highest co-citation score. The burst terms of ‘morbidity’, ‘elderly patient’, and ‘classification’ were ranked first as research indicators. Conclusions We were able to construct a systematic analysis of studies related to surgical treatment for NSCLC by providing new perspectives and valuable information. The treatment for locally advanced NSCLC and assisted thoracic surgery were terms that appear to have developmental trends. However, further attention and innovation are still needed in this area.