Global landscape and hotspot analysis of meditation research in cancer: a bibliometric study.

A bibliometric analysis of 825 articles on meditation in cancer research, published between 1976 and 2024, shows steadily rising scholarly interest. The USA, Australia, and China lead in publications. Influential scholars include Carlson Linda E and eight others. Keyword and co-citation analyses identify "breast cancer," "quality of life," and "psychological intervention" as current hot topics. Future cutting-edge directions may include online and virtual reality interventions, cancer survivors, fear of recurrence, and qualitative research. The work underscores meditation's potential as an adjuvant therapy to improve cancer patients' quality of life.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Meditation is well known for its positive effects on recovery and quality of life enhancement among cancer patients. Meditation as an adjuvant therapy has received extensive attention from international scholars in relieving pain, reducing psychological pressure and improving the quality of life of cancer patients. In this study, we examine the current status of meditation in cancer research and its potential application value and future development. We collected 825 articles published in the Web of science Core Collection between January 1, 1976, and July 1, 2024, covering 11 cancer types. Bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer, Citespace, and Biblioshiny were used to analyze publication trends, international collaborations, author contributions, keywords, co-citations, and journal impact. First, the steadily rising number of publications indicates an increasing scholarly focus on meditation's benefits for patients. Second, the USA, Australia, and China are the countries with the highest number of publications in each of the three clusters. Additionally, Carlson Linda E and eight other scholars are influential scholars in this field. Finally, through keyword co-occurrence and co-citation analysis, we identified "breast cancer," "quality of life," and "psychological intervention" as the hot topics of current research. The study provides a valuable reference for scientific researchers to further explore meditation in cancer treatment. This study highlights the growing interest in meditation as an adjuvant therapy for cancer patients, underscoring its potential to improve survivors' quality of life. Current research primarily focuses on quality of life, mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy, and clinical trials. Additionally, online, virtual reality technology, cancer survivors, fear of cancer recurrence, and qualitative research may become cutting-edge research directions in the future.