Hepatocellular carcinoma’s 100 most influential manuscripts: A bibliometric analysis

Aims: A bibliometric analysis identifies the major publications that influence the clinical management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Within this study, the 100 most cited HCC articles are noted and analysed. Methods: The search terminology “Hepatocellular carcinoma” and “HCC” were used to search through the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database. The inclusion criteria consisted of English language full articles. The subject matter, author and institution details, year of publication and journal were recorded for the 100 most cited HCC articles. Citation rate index was calculated by dividing the number of citations by the number of years since publication. Results: The search through the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database identified 39,518 eligible papers. The median (range) citation number was 909 (4419 to 458). The most cited article (produced by Llovet et al) discussed the role of Sorafenib in advanced HCC (4419 citations). Hepatology published the most articles (n=20, 20,533 citations), however the Lancet had the overall highest citation number of 39219, across 9 published articles. The most discussed topic was HCC management (n=31), followed by prognosis (n=18) and aetiology (n=15). Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis has identified the 100 most cited HCC articles. Through integrating new knowledge into clinical practice, this has enabled novel treatment strategies to be utilised for patients with HCC. This study highlights what makes a citable article and may aid in the development for future HCC research themes.