Global research trends in robot-assisted nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a visualized bibliometric analysis.

Objectives: This study applied bibliometric methods to depict the global research profile of robot-assisted nephroureterectomy (RANU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). We examined temporal changes in publication and citation output, outlined the main contributing countries, institutions, authors and journals, characterised prevailing research themes and key references, and pinpointed domains in which clinical evidence is still too sparse to provide firm guidance for routine practice. Materials and methods: Publications on RANU in patients with UTUC, appearing between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2025, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Only records written in English and categorised as articles or reviews were eligible. Titles, abstracts and, when required, full texts were screened in sequence, yielding 249 publications (215 original research papers and 34 review articles) that met the inclusion criteria. Bibliographic information was exported into Microsoft Excel for data cleaning, descriptive summarisation of key variables and preparation of time-trend plots. CiteSpace 6.3 and VOSviewer 1.6.17 were then employed to construct and visualise collaboration and co-citation networks for countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, keywords and references, and to conduct clustering, timeline and thematic-evolution analyses. Results: Between 2001 and 2025, we identified 249 publications on RANU for UTUC, which together received 3,165 citations, giving an average of 12.71 citations per article. Research output was sparse before 2010, then increased gradually and rose steeply during 2021–2025, a period in which 157 papers were published and annual citation counts peaked. The United States was the dominant contributor with 110 articles, while China and Italy ranked second and third. Several other European and East Asian countries produced fewer papers but achieved relatively high mean citation counts. High-volume centres located in North America and Europe occupied central positions within the international collaboration network, and a small group of surgeons contributed a large share of the highly cited literature. Publications were primarily disseminated through specialist journals, notably Journal of Endourology, BJU International, Cancers, World Journal of Urology and Journal of Robotic Surgery. Keyword co-occurrence and thematic analyses pointed to a shift from early feasibility and initial minimally invasive experience toward comparative-effectiveness research, optimisation of bladder cuff techniques, prevention of intravesical recurrence and guideline-based risk stratification. Conclusions: Research activity on RANU for UTUC has grown rapidly over the past decade and is now predominantly concentrated in high-volume centres in North America, Europe and East Asia, supported by a limited number of specialist journals and core authors. Robotic approaches are increasingly employed for complex UTUC scenarios and for refining techniques of bladder cuff excision and reconstruction. Nevertheless, evidence on long-term oncological outcomes, recurrence patterns, integration with systemic therapies and cost-effectiveness remains sparse. Future investigations should emphasise prospective multicentre registries and rigorously designed comparative studies with standardised reporting, refined risk-stratification schemes and formal health-economic assessment, to ensure that the potential benefits of RANU are more consistently translated into real-world practice across diverse healthcare systems.