Worldwide productivity and research trend of publications concerning tumor immune microenvironment (TIME): a bibliometric study

CRHBP, a novel multiple cancer biomarker connected with better prognosis and anti-tumorigenicity

BACKGROUND

The corticotropin-releasing hormone-binding protein (CRHBP) plays a crucial role in regulating corticotropin release. Little is known about the role of CRHBP, a major regulator of neuroendocrine, autonomic, and stress adaptation, in tumors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and molecular landscapes of CRHBP in various types of tumors.

METHODS

We investigated the role of CRHBP in different types of tumors using publicly available databases and performed a comparative expression analysis of CRHBP-related genes in pan-cancer prognosis using methylation profiling, tumor-infiltrating immune cell expression analysis, gene enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction analysis, identified common pathways, and in vitro evaluation.

RESULTS

We evaluated CRHBP expression across tumor and corresponding normal tissues using the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Genotype-Tissue Expression database. CRHBP was downregulated in most tumors and was identified as an important factor for predicting the prognosis of patients with cancer. Intracellular metabolic pathways and hormone-related processes were involved in the functional mechanisms of CRHBP. Mechanistically, the downregulation of CRHBP was attributed to the upregulation of four miRNAs in most tumors, and CRHBP expression was related to tumor-infiltrating immune cells in tumors. Overexpression of CRHBP significantly inhibited cell proliferation of LUAD, LIHC, and KIRC cell lines, while inhibition of cell mobility was found only in KIRC and HCC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a comprehensive summary of the systemic role of CRHBP expression in various types of tumors, highlighting the prognostic importance and clinical significance of tumors. Furthermore, CRHBP decreases cell proliferation and mobility in cancer cell lines associated with OS and DFS, further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and explore clinical applications.

Role of extracellular vesicle-associated proteins in the progression, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer, characterized by difficulties in early diagnosis, prone to distant metastasis, and high recurrence rates following surgery. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a class of cell-derived particles, including exosomes, characterized by a phospholipid bilayer. They serve as effective carriers for intercellular communication cargo, including proteins and nucleic acids, and are widely involved in tumor progression. They are being explored as potential tumor biomarkers and novel therapeutic avenues. We provide a brief overview of the biogenesis and characteristics of EVs to better understand their classification standards. The focus of this review is on the research progress of EV-associated proteins in the field of HCC. EV-associated proteins are involved in tumor growth and regulation in HCC, participate in intercellular communication within the tumor microenvironment (TME), and are implicated in events including angiogenesis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during tumor metastasis. In addition, EV-associated proteins show promising diagnostic efficacy for HCC. For the treatment of HCC, they also demonstrate significant potential including enhancing the efficacy of tumor vaccines, and as targeting cargo anchors. Facing current challenges, we propose the future directions of research in this field. Above all, research on EV-associated proteins offers the potential to enhance our comprehension of HCC and offer novel insights for developing new treatment strategies.

Research trends and hotspots in the immune microenvironment related to hepatocellular carcinoma: A bibliometric and visualization study

BACKGROUND

The immune microenvironment (IME) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) plays a pivotal role in determining patient outcomes and responses to treatment. This area is witnessing rapid growth in research interest. However, there is a lack of comprehensive bibliometric analyses that dissect trends and potential focal points in this field.

AIM

To explore the evolution of research on the IME in HCC from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2023, using bibliometric methodologies.

METHODS

English articles and reviews concerning the IME of HCC were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection with a search date of December 31, 2023. The R package Bibliometrix was employed to compute basic bibliometric characteristics, illustrate collaborations among countries and authors, and create a three-field diagram illustrating the connections between authors, affiliations, and keywords. Analyses of country and institutional co-authorship, as well as keyword co-occurrence, were conducted using VOSviewer. Additionally, CiteSpace was utilized for the cite burst analysis of keywords and cited literature.

RESULTS

The study encompassed 3125 documents in the research areas related to HCC of IME, revealing a substantial and continuous increase in the annual publication trend over time. China and Fudan University emerged as leading contributors, with 2103 and 165 publications, respectively. Frontiers in immunology was the most prolific journal in this domain. Among the top ten researchers in the field, eight are based in China. Key research terms identified include tumour microenvironment, expression, immunotherapy, and prognosis.

CONCLUSION

The relationship between HCC and IME is receiving increasing attention, and related research is in a highly developed stage. Key focus areas, including IME and immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunotherapy are poised to be central to future research endeavors, offering promising pathways for further exploration.

Role of SYT11 in human pan-cancer using comprehensive approaches

BACKGROUND

Synaptotagmin 11 (SYT11) plays a pivotal role in neuronal vesicular trafficking and exocytosis. However, no independent prognostic studies have focused on various cancers. In this study, we aimed to summarize the clinical significance and molecular landscape of SYT11 in various tumor types.

METHODS

Using several available public databases, we investigated abnormal SYT11 expression in different tumor types and its potential clinical association with prognosis, methylation profiling, immune infiltration, gene enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction analysis, and identified common pathways.

RESULTS

TCGA and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) showed that SYT11 was widely expressed across tumor and corresponding normal tissues. Survival analysis showed that SYT11 expression correlated with the prognosis of seven cancer types. Additionally, SYT11 mRNA expression was not affected by promoter methylation, but regulated by certain miRNAs and associated with cancer patient prognosis. In vitro experiments further verified a negative correlation between the expression of SYT11 and miR-19a-3p in human colorectal, lung, and renal cancer cell lines. Moreover, aberrant SYT11 expression was significantly associated with immune infiltration. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the biological and molecular processes of SYT11 were related to clathrin-mediated endocytosis, Rho GTPase signaling, and cell motility-related functions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide a clear understanding of the role of SYT11 in various cancer types and suggest that SYT11 may be of prognostic and clinical significance.

Global research trends and prospects related to tumor microenvironment within Triple Negative Breast Cancer: a bibliometric analysis

Background and aims

The tumor microenvironment (TME) has pivotal parts within multiple tumor models of onset/progression, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This bibliometric analysis was developed to explore trends and research niches revolving around TME in TNBC.

Methods

Web of Science Core Collection was queried for identifying studies linked with TME in TNBC, after which the VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R software programs were used to conduct bibliometric analyses and to generate corresponding visualizations.

Results

In total, this study included 1,604 studies published from 2005-2023. The USA and China exhibited the highest numbers of citations, and the research institutions with the greatest output in this field included Harvard University, the University of Texas System, and Fudan University. Ying Wang from Sun Yat-Sen University was the most published and most cited author in this space. The highest number of articles were published in Cancer, while the greatest co-citation number was evident in Breast Cancer Research. Important keywords related to this research topic included metastasis, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and nanoparticles. In particular, pembrolizumab, immunotherapy, nanoparticles, combination treatment, and biomarkers were topics of marked interest in recent reports.

Conclusion

The TME in TNBC is an area of rapidly growing and evolving research interest, with extensive global collaboration helping to drive this field forward. Antitumor therapies targeting the TME in TNBC patients represent an emerging topic of future research, providing opportunities for translational findings. The results of this analysis may provide additional guidance for work focused on the TME in TNBC.

Mapping knowledge structure and themes trends of cancer-associated fibroblasts: a text-mining study

Introduction: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) constitute an important component of the tumor microenvironment, participating in various facets of cancer advancement and being recognized as contributors to tumor immune evasion. The role of CAFs in various tumor types has attracted increasing attention recently. In this work, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to uncover research trajectories and highlight emerging areas in the field of CAFs. Methods: A systematic search was performed within the Web of Science Core Collection to identify articles/reviews on CAFs published between 2000 and 2023. Leveraging advanced bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and online website, we examined and visualized publication trends, geographic contributions, institutional affiliations, journal prominence, author collaborations, and noteworthy references, keywords, and genes. Results: Our analysis included 5,190 publications, indicating a rapid growth trend in both annual publications and citations related to CAFs. China and the United States emerged as the foremost contributors in terms of publications, funding agencies, and international collaborations. Breast cancer was the most studied tumor, followed by colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. Based on co-occurrence and bursting keywords, we identified the following research topics including immune cells (T cells, B-cells, tumor-associated macrophages), tumor immune microenvironment (antitumor immunity, immune infiltration, immunosuppression), immunotherapy (PD-L1), microRNAs (miRNA), extracellular vesicles (exosome), multiple tumors (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, bladder cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma), antitumor agents (gemcitabine, cisplatin resistance), bioinformatics (pan-cancer), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (stemness), FAPI PET/CT, DNA methylation, etc., may receive sustained attention in the future. Furthermore, TGFB1, IL-6, TNF, TP53, and VEGFA emerged as the top 5 genes that have garnered the greatest research attention in the field of CAFs. The KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted that the top 20 most studied genes were mainly associated with HIF-1 and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways. Discussion: In sum, our bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive overview of the research landscape in the field of CAFs. It encompasses the current state, evolving patterns, and prospective avenues of exploration, with special attention to the potential advancements in tumor immune microenvironment.