Mao-Sheng Liu,1 Si-Si Zhong,2 Jin-Ke Wang,1 Ting Wang,1 Kun-He Zhang1 

1Department of Gastroenterology, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Jiangxi Clinical Research Center for Gastroenterology, Digestive Disease Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Quality and Safety Management, the First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Kun-He Zhang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 17 Yongwai Zheng Street, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China, Email khzhang@ncu.edu.cn Ting Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 17 Yongwai Zheng Street, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China, Email tingwang@ncu.edu.cn

Objective: Extensive exploratory studies have been conducted and promising progress has been made in the use of nanomaterials for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we aimed to reveal the evolution and trends in this field through bibliometric analysis.
Methods: English-language publications (1999– 2024) in the field of nanomaterials and HCC were retrieved from the Web of Science database, and eligible articles were selected for bibliometric analysis (data extraction, statistical analysis, and visualization) using VOSviewer and Citespace software.
Results: A total of 1617 eligible publications were analyzed. The number of publications increased rapidly from 2012 and peaked in 2020. China contributed the most publications, and the United States had the most citations. The Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most influential institution. The “International Journal of Nanomedicine (DOVE Medical)” published the most articles, while “Biomaterials (Elsevier)” was the most influential journal. Jie Tian had the highest number of publications, and Dan Shao had the highest average citation per article. Keyword analysis revealed that nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, therapy and imaging of HCC were research hotspots. Keywords with citation bursts in the last three years included photodynamic therapy, sorafenib, and tumor microenvironment. Nano-vaccines, nano-antibodies, and synergistic therapies were emerging therapeutic strategies. A total of seven clinical trials were published, but to date there have been no major breakthroughs in HCC therapy using nanomaterials.
Conclusion: Research on nanomaterials and HCC has shown an overall upward trend, with research hotspots and frontiers focusing on nanoparticle-targeted chemotherapies, photodynamic therapy, and related tumor microenvironment research.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, nanomaterials, bibliometric analysis, research trends, research hotspots