Exploring the Landscape of Salivary Gland Disorders: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

This study aims to conduct a major bibliometric analysis of salivary gland disorders, exploring publication characteristics, trends, and influential contributors. The primary objective is to improve understanding of the current state of research in this area and to identify potential directions for future investigation.

A comprehensive study was conducted analysing 11,679 publications from 1980 to 2023 retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. The analysis included collaboration across countries, keyword co-occurrence, co-citation networks and clustering. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to explore relationships and create visualisations.

The analysis revealed a dynamic landscape of salivary gland research, with the United States leading in both the number of publications (n = 2998) and centrality (0.26). Network analysis unveiled nine clusters, including topics such as parotidectomy and immunohistochemistry. Co-occurrence analysis of keywords highlighted evolving trends, with recent emphasis on terms such as sialendoscopy, cytopathology, and gene fusion. The timeline view illustrated the changing significance of terms over the years, reflecting current areas of interest such as radiomics and mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the field, offering insights into influential work, collaborative networks, and emerging trends. The outputs of the analysis can guide researchers and clinicians in shaping future investigations.