Worldwide research trends on the tumor immunometabolism–cancer immunotherapy nexus: a systematic bibliometric review

Abstract

Background: Metabolic competition, nutrient restriction and metabolite accumulation in the tumor microenvironment reshape immune-cell fate and can constrain immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive cell therapies. We systematically mapped whether the tumor immunometabolism literature has shifted toward immunotherapy-oriented translation. Methods: We conducted a systematic bibliometric mapping review reported with reference to PRISMA 2020. Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus were searched on 26 July 2026 for English-language journal articles and reviews published from 2001 to 2025 that linked cancer, immune-cell metabolism and immunotherapy. Prespecified metadata eligibility criteria were applied independently to each database. Web of Science was the primary dataset and Scopus provided parallel validation. Bibliometrix, VOSviewer and CiteSpace characterized publication growth, contributors, citation structure and keyword evolution. Between-group and stratum comparisons used non-parametric tests, with test statistics, effect sizes and Benjamini–Hochberg-adjusted P values reported for every comparison. Results: We retained 3,214 Web of Science and 3,513 Scopus records. Publications from 2020–2025 represented 83.7% and 83.0% of the respective datasets, reproducing the recent expansion across databases. China contributed the most Web of Science publications (n=1,470), whereas the United States had more total citations (70,049 vs 55,911) and a higher mean citation rate (96.4 vs 38.0 citations per article). Articles involved larger teams than reviews (median 10 vs 4 authors), whereas reviews cited more references (median 136 vs 50; both adjusted p<0.001). Leading keywords included immunotherapy (n=768), tumor microenvironment (n=469), metabolism (n=198), T cells (n=187), immunometabolism (n=155), hypoxia (n=149), metabolic reprogramming (n=133), immune checkpoint inhibitors (n=121) and CAR-T cells (n=101). Highly cited and citation-burst literature progressed from hypoxia, adenosine and metabolic competition toward T-cell exhaustion, mitochondrial fitness, regulatory T-cell adaptation and metabolically engineered cellular therapy. Conclusion: This systematic bibliometric review identifies a reproducible shift toward metabolism-informed checkpoint and cellular-therapy strategies, but bibliometric proximity to clinical terminology should not be interpreted as evidence of clinical efficacy or readiness.