Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mitophagy is crucial for maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis and the internal environment of the liver. It plays a dual role in the emergence and progression of liver cancer by removing damaged mitochondria and supplying energy. Additionally, mitophagy can influence the effectiveness of liver cancer treatments through various signaling pathways. AIM: This study aims to summarize the research status, hot spots, frontiers, and development trends of mitophagy in liver cancer based on bibliometrics and visual analysis. METHODS: Publications on mitophagy in liver cancer were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database as of December 11, 2024. Vosviewer, Co-Occurrence software, CiteSpace, and SCImago Graphica were utilized for bibliometric and visualized analysis. RESULTS: We collected 703 publications from WoSCC. Over the past 27 years, the number of publications on mitophagy in liver cancer has shown a consistent upward trend. China leads in the number of publications and total citations. Notable institutions contributing significantly to this field include Zhejiang University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Sun Yat-sen University. Key journals for publishing research on mitophagy in liver cancer are the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Frontiers in Oncology, and Autophagy. Major contributors to this area of study include Wang Bin and Li Yan. In recent years, the mechanisms associated with mitophagy and liver cancer have remained a hot spot, including ferroptosis, aerobic glycolysis, transcription factor EB, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. In addition, combining sorafenib with melatonin may present a promising therapeutic option for advanced liver cancer. CONCLUSION: This is the first comprehensive and in-depth bibliometric study of trends and developments of mitophagy in liver cancer. It provides researchers with panoramic knowledge of this field, as well as research hotspots and future directions.