Open Access

ARTICLE

Application Value and Research Frontiers of Immunotherapy in Glioblastoma: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis

Kun Deng^1,2,3, Jianliang Huang^1,2,3, Danyang Li^2,3, Wei Gao^2,3, Minghua Wu^2,3,4,*, Mingsheng Lei^1,5,*

1 Institute of Modern Biomedical Research, Zhangjiajie College, Zhangjiajie, 427000, China
2 The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health, Cancer Research Institute, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
3 The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Cancer Research Institute, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
4 Xiangya School of Public Health, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
5 Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Zhangjiajie Hospital Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Zhangjiajie, 427000, China

* Corresponding Authors: Minghua Wu. Email: ; Mingsheng Lei. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy)

Oncology Research 2026, 34(1), . https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2025.069442

Received 23 June 2025; Accepted 04 October 2025; Issue published 30 December 2025

Abstract

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) prognosis has seen little improvement over the past two decades. While immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, its impact on GBM remains limited. To characterize the evolving research landscape and identify future directions in GBM immunotherapy, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric review. Methods: All literature related to immunotherapy in GBM from 1999 to 2024 was collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. CtieSpace and VOSviewer were used to conduct bibliometric analysis and visualize the data. Results: Bibliometric analysis identified 5038 publications authored by 23,335 researchers from 4699 institutions across 96 countries/regions, published in 945 journals. The United States produced the highest number of publications, while Switzerland achieved the highest average citation rate. Duke University led in institutional output and citations. John H Sampson was the most productive author, and Roger Stupp was the most cited. Frontiers in Immunology published the most papers, while Clinical Cancer Research was the most cited journal. Research focus centered on adoptive T cell therapy, particularly chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells with 572 dedicated publications. Within CAR-T research for GBM, the University of Pennsylvania was the leading institution, Frontiers in Immunology the predominant journal, and Christine E Brown (City of Hope National Medical Center) was the most prolific and cited author. Conclusions: There has been a growing interest in GBM immunotherapy over past decades. The United States is the dominant contributor. CAR-T therapy represents the primary research focus. Emerging strategies like chimeric antigen receptor-modified natural killer (CAR-NK) cells, chimeric antigen receptor-engineered macrophages (CAR-M), and cytomegalovirus-specific T cell receptor (CMV-TCR) T cells are gaining prominence, aiming to address limitations in antigen recognition inherent to CAR-T therapy for GBM.

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