Knowledge Mapping of Ferroptosis in Sarcoma: A Bibliometric and Bioinformatics Analysis (2012–2023)

Background: Sarcoma, a rare and heterogeneous group of malignant tumors originating from mesenchymal tissues, presents a significant challenge in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Ferroptosis, a newly emerging field of research, is a new type of iron-dependent cell death, which is different from apoptosis and autophagy. Despite the clinical importance of understanding the relationship between sarcoma and ferroptosis, limited studies have investigated this topic. Therefore, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric and bioinformaticsanalysis to provide a overview of the current research in this domain. Methods: In this study, we employed three main methods, namely CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R package "bibliometrix" to analyze the relevant literature. Publications related to ferroptosis and sarcoma in the Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database from 2012 to 2023 were included. R studio and some public databases were used for bioinformatics. Results: The analysis revealed that research on sarcoma and ferroptosis has experienced a steady increase over the years, with a diverse range of research topics and collaborations established among researchers worldwide. The key findings include the identification of influential authors and institutions, prominent research clusters, and emerging research trends. The bioinformatics analysis results confirmed the significance of ferroptosis-related gene ACSF2 in different sarcomas. Notably, the scarcity of studies focusing on the relationship between sarcoma and ferroptosis has been observed, highlighting the potential for further exploration in this area. Conclusion: The integration of bibliometrics and bioinformatics provides valuable insights into the research landscape of sarcoma and ferroptosis. Future research on ferroptosis will continue to focus on its mechanisms in sarcomas including immune microenvironment, while also further exploring its potential clinical applications. We have identified a potential ferroptosis-related gene ACSF2 which may provide new directions for research on sarcomas.