Progress in ubiquitination and hepatocellular carcinoma: a bibliometric analysis

Background and purposeUbiquitination modifications can affect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression through various signaling pathways. However, no significant results have been observed regarding protein ubiquitination in HCC's therapeutic transformation. This study aimed to explore the research areas related to ubiquitination and HCC from a bibliometric perspective. MethodsArticles and reviews on HCC and ubiquitination published between 2000 and 2023 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R-bibliometrix were used for the bibliometric and visualization analyses. ResultsAltogether, 358 papers on ubiquitination and HCC were extracted from the WOSCC. Over 24 years, the number of publications has increased. Since the beginning of 2019, studies related to this topic have increased significantly, indicating that the role of ubiquitination modification in HCC is currently popular. China is the leading country in this field with the largest number of publications. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is one of the most influential institutions. Qiao, Yongxia, and Zhang Jie are highly productive authors with major achievements. The journal Cell Death & Disease had the highest number of publications, and the most highly cited journal was Oncogene. The highest citation burst intensity was Sung (2021). In the keyword strategy map, "cancer antigens" are popular keywords in HCC and ubiquitination research. ConclusionA comprehensive visual analysis of ubiquitination and HCC research was conducted using bibliometric methods, showing the publications and popular topics in this field over the past two decades, thus providing references for the future direction of ubiquitination and HCC research.