Abstract
BACKGROUND: "Chemobrain", or chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, is a well-documented clinical phenomenon. While neuroinflammation has been proposed as a key underlying mechanism, a comprehensive mapping of the knowledge structure and evolution of this specific research domain is lacking. METHODS: The authors conducted a bibliometric analysis to quantitatively and visually characterize the scholarly literature on neuroinflammation and chemobrain. A total of 923 relevant publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (1994‒2023) were analyzed using VOSviewer. RESULTS: The analysis reveals a rapidly growing field, with a significant increase in publications and thematic focus on terms like cytokines, microglia, and oxidative stress in recent years. This shift signifies a move from purely descriptive studies toward mechanistic inquiry. While the United States has historically been the dominant contributor, China has emerged as a leading force in the past decade, indicating a global expansion of research interest. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first holistic overview of the neuroinflammation and chemobrain research landscape, delineating its thematic evolution and collaborative networks. The findings underscore that neuroinflammation remains a highly active, yet not fully elucidated, mechanistic hypothesis driving the field. A key limitation is the bibliometric nature of the study, which reflects terminological and publication trends rather than direct biological validation. Future research should focus on integrating multi-omics data and conducting longitudinal clinical studies to substantiate these mechanistic links.