Exploration of the mechanism of chemobrain related to neuroinflammation from 1994 to 2023.

background"Chemobrain", or chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment, is a well-documented clinical phenomenon. While neuroinflammation has been proposed as a key underlying mechanism, a comprehensive mapping of the knowledge structure and evolution of this specific research domain is lacking.

methodsThe authors conducted a bibliometric analysis to quantitatively and visually characterize the scholarly literature on neuroinflammation and chemobrain. A total of 923 relevant publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (1994‒2023) were analyzed using VOSviewer.

resultsThe analysis reveals a rapidly growing field, with a significant increase in publications and thematic focus on terms like cytokines, microglia, and oxidative stress in recent years. This shift signifies a move from purely descriptive studies toward mechanistic inquiry. While the United States has historically been the dominant contributor, China has emerged as a leading force in the past decade, indicating a global expansion of research interest.

conclusionThis study provides the first holistic overview of the neuroinflammation and chemobrain research landscape, delineating its thematic evolution and collaborative networks. The findings underscore that neuroinflammation remains a highly active, yet not fully elucidated, mechanistic hypothesis driving the field. A key limitation is the bibliometric nature of the study, which reflects terminological and publication trends rather than direct biological validation. Future research should focus on integrating multi-omics data and conducting longitudinal clinical studies to substantiate these mechanistic links.