The 100 most cited papers on thymoma: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objectives:This study aims to identify the 100 most cited research articles on thymoma. Methods: The 100 most cited articles on thymoma were identified by searching the Web of Science database. The following important information of selected articles was extracted: author, journal, impact factor, type of article, year of publication, country, organization, and keyword. Results: To our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric study on thymoma. The publication year of the top 100 most cited articles ranged from 1981 to 2018, and the number of citations ranged from 97 to 1182. Most of the included articles are original (75/100) and are mainly retrospective studies (52/75). The United States has the most published articles and citations, and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery is the most sourced journal (n=16). Through VOSviewer analysis, high-density keywords mainly come from thymic carcinoma/invasive thymoma management, immune-related diseases, and laboratory research. Conclusions: Our study summarizes the top 100 most cited articles in the field of thymoma and conducts further analysis. The previous research in this field and possible future research directions are presented.