Global research trends in robot-assisted partial nephrectomy: a visualized bibliometric analysis.

This study aimed to characterise the global research landscape of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) using bibliometric methods, by outlining temporal trends in publication output, key contributors and research themes, and identifying remaining evidence gaps. Publications on RAPN from 2001 to 2025 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, restricted to English-language articles and reviews. After screening titles and abstracts, 2,367 records were included (1,994 original articles and 373 reviews). Microsoft Excel was used to organise bibliographic information and generate time-trend plots. CiteSpace 6.3 and VOSviewer 1.6.17 were applied to construct collaboration and co-citation networks for countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, keywords and references, and to perform clustering, timeline and burst-detection analyses. Annual RAPN publications were few in the early 2000s but increased steadily, entering a high-output phase in recent years and indicating that RAPN has become an important option in nephron-sparing surgery. Research activity was concentrated in a limited number of countries: the United States was the leading contributor, followed by Italy and China, with additional input from other European and Asian countries. A small group of high-volume tertiary and academic centres formed the institutional core of the field. Most articles were published in specialist urology journals, while leading general urology titles were the most frequently co-cited sources. Keywords were mainly related to partial nephrectomy, nephron-sparing surgery, surgical approach, outcomes and complications. Co-occurrence, clustering and timeline analyses showed that research focus has shifted from early feasibility and comparisons with open or laparoscopic surgery towards tumour complexity scoring, renal ischaemia and function preservation, oncologic outcomes, and the integration of three-dimensional reconstruction and image-guided or augmented reality–assisted RAPN. Global RAPN research has expanded rapidly over the past two decades and is largely driven by high-volume centres in North America and Europe, with growing participation from Asia. Existing evidence supports RAPN as a key component of nephron-sparing surgery, particularly for complex renal tumours, but robust prospective and multicentre data on long-term renal function, quality of life, cost-effectiveness and outcomes in less-resourced settings remain insufficient. Future studies should strengthen international collaboration, standardise functional and oncologic outcome reporting, and focus on risk-stratified comparisons and real-world cohorts to better define the indications and clinical value of RAPN.