Mesothelioma Due to Workplace Exposure: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis of Current Situation and Future Trends

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma Due to Workplace Exposure: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis of Current Situation and Future Trends, by H. Lai, C. Hu, M. Qu, et al (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023).

The study

• Authors: H. Lai, C. Hu, M. Qu, X. Liu, Y. Xue, P. Xu, D. Hao
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Published: 2023;20(4)
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: This article provides an overview of the current status and research progress of mesothelioma. Methods: A total of 2638 documents published from 1 January 2004 to 30 November 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed via Microsoft Office Excel 2019, VOSviewer 1.6.18, and Tableau 2022.2. Results: There was an obvious increase in the number of publications regarding mesothelioma in the last 18 years, with the United States dominating the research field with 715 publications and 23,882 citations, while the University of Turin contributed the most (118). Occupational & Environmental Medicine was the most popular journal (80), with Corrado Magnani being the most prolific author (52) and Michele Carbone obtaining the most citations (4472). "Oncology" and "Health Science of Environment & Occupation" were the two main subjects, while the keywords "asbestos", "lung cancer", "gene expression", "apoptosis", "survival", and "cisplatin" were the most popular. Conclusions: The containment of mesothelioma calls for more participation from low- and middle-income countries, and further attention needs to be paid to clinical research.

In plain English

This article was a bibliometric review. Rather than studying patients or workers, the authors counted and mapped published research on mesothelioma. They searched the Web of Science Core Collection for English-language research articles published from 1 January 2004 to 30 November 2022 that combined exposure terms with mesothelioma terms, and retrieved 2638 articles. Yearly output peaked at 187 articles in 2017, then fell to 161 in 2021. The United States produced the most articles (715), followed by Italy (525) and Japan (300). The University of Turin published the most (118 articles), and Corrado Magnani was the most prolific author (52 articles). The most cited article was a 2008 mouse study of carbon nanotubes, with 1875 citations. Frequent keywords included "asbestos" (1127 occurrences), "lung cancer" (457) and "chrysotile" (121). Only one of the 15 most cited articles was a clinical trial. The authors concluded that mesothelioma research needs more participation from low- and middle-income countries and more clinical research. They noted that they included only English-language articles from a single database.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Bibliometric review (quantitative analysis of published literature: publication counts, citations, co-authorship, co-citation and keyword co-occurrence)
• Who was studied: 2638 English-language research articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, published from 1 January 2004 to 30 November 2022, retrieved in December 2022
• Exposure: Not an exposure study. Articles were selected with search terms combining 'exposure', 'expose' or 'exposed' with 'mesothelioma', 'mesothelial tumor' or 'mesothelial neoplasm'. No specific fiber, product or job was searched for.
• Main results:
  • Annual numbers of articles rose to a peak of 187 in 2017 and were 161 in 2021
  • By country, the United States produced the most articles (715; 27.10%), followed by Italy (525; 19.90%) and Japan (300; 11.37%)
  • By institution, the University of Turin published the most articles (118; 4.47%)
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded the most articles (235; 8.91%)
  • By journal, Occupational & Environmental Medicine published the most articles (80; 3.03%)
  • Corrado Magnani was the most prolific author (52 articles, 1.97%). Michele Carbone and Harvey I. Pass had the most citations (4472 and 4276)
  • The most cited article was a 2008 Nature Nanotechnology study of carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity of mice, with 1875 citations
  • The subject areas with the most articles were 'Public Environmental Occupational Health' (657) and 'Oncology' (640)
  • In the population-research keyword cluster, 'asbestos' occurred 1127 times and 'lung cancer' 457 times. 'Chrysotile' occurred 121 times.
  • In the earlier period, the fiber-related keywords 'erionite' (44 occurrences), 'tremolite' (58) and 'crocidolite' (86) were prominent topics
  • Of the 15 most cited articles, eight were mechanism studies, six were population surveys and one was a clinical trial
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that mesothelioma research requires more participation from low- and middle-income countries and more clinical research
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Only English-language articles were included. Papers in other languages, editorials, letters and meeting abstracts were excluded.
  • Other databases such as PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were not searched, which may have reduced the data available

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Apoptosis, Cisplatin.

Related studies

• Assessing trends and burden of occupational exposure to asbestos in the United States: a comprehensive analysis from 1990 to 2019 — X. Li, X. Su, et al. (2024)
• Time trend of mesothelioma incidence in the United States and projection of future cases: an update based on SEER data for 1973 through 2005 — B. Price, A. Ware (2009)
• Future trends in mortality of French men from mesothelioma — A. Banaei, B. Auvert, et al. (2000)
• Future trends of mesothelioma mortality in Japan based on a risk function — T. Myojin, K. Azuma, et al. (2012)
• Past trends and future prediction of mesothelioma incidence in an industrialized area of Italy, the Veneto Region — P. Girardi, V. Bressan, et al. (2014)
• Mesothelioma risk and environmental exposure to asbestos: past and future trends in Japan — K. Azuma, I. Uchiyama, et al. (2009)

Browse more research in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, or return to medical research.