Head and neck cancer research collaborations between the United States and low- and middle-income countries: A 10-year publication analysis

Background Disparities exist for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients between those in developed countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To improve HNC care globally, collaborations between the United States and LMICs have been established. Our objectives are: (1) define trends of collaborative HNC publications among LMICs and the United States and (2) assess the global distribution of these publications by region. Methods A Scopus search identified all HNC research publications during 2009 to 2018. These were then categorized by type (basic vs. clinical) and by global regions. Results Five thousand one hundred and seventy collaborative publications were identified, of which 41% were basic science and 59% clinical. The highest rate of collaborative publications for both basic science and clinical papers was seen in the East Asia/Pacific region. Conclusions The number of collaborative research publications per year in HNC is increasing across the globe, at varying rates in different global regions.