The intersection of climate change and cancer across global populations: A bibliometric analysis (2000–2024)

Background

The convergence of climate change and cancer is an emerging research area with significant implications for public health. This bibliometric analysis aimed to map the growth, trends, contributors, collaboration networks, and thematic areas related to this field.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed and Scopus databases for peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2024 using predefined keywords. One-hundred and nineteen eligible articles were analyzed for metrics like co-authorship networks and keywords co-occurrence.

Results

The volume of research has seen a significant rise since the 2010s. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom were leading contributors, while the Low- and Middle-Income Countries were underrepresented. Dominant research themes included climate change and cancer, pollution and cancer, sun exposure, temperature and skin cancer, and air pollution and climate change. Air pollution and particulate matter were identified as high-density and centrality motor themes.

Conclusion

This analysis provides a first-of-its-kind mapping of 2 decades of global research at the intersection of climate change and cancer. Future research should prioritize global South perspectives, context-specific investigations, and longitudinal studies integrating registry data for in-depth studies to elucidate the causal relationships between climate change and cancer types. The oncology community should engage in climate action through mitigation and adaptation strategies.