The current status and hot topics of endoscopic techniques in breast cancer surgery: a global bibliometric and visualization analysis (1999-2024).

[BACKGROUND] Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women worldwide, and surgery remains its primary treatment. Endoscopic-assisted breast surgery has gained widespread attention in recent years for its minimally invasive and aesthetic advantages, yet its safety remains controversial. This study aims to provide a comprehensive bibliometric overview of endoscopic surgery for breast cancer, elucidating its development trends, research patterns, and emerging hotspots.

[METHODS] Based on the Web of Science (WoS) database (1999-2024), we searched and screened relevant English literature. Tools such as R, Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were used to conduct metrological and visualization analyses of countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords.

[RESULTS] A total of 230 documents were included. China, Japan, and the United States were the major research countries, with China leading in publication volume and international collaboration. Changhua Christian Hospital in Taiwan, China was the most active institution, and scholars such as Lai, Hung-Wen were the most prolific and highly cited. Core journals included Annals of Surgical Oncology. The analysis of highly cited literature and keywords shows that research hotspots have shifted from early focuses on axillary lymph node dissection and breast ductoscopy to nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) and breast reconstruction. Current research is mainly focused on key technologies such as endoscopic and robot-assisted breast reconstruction.

[CONCLUSIONS] In the future, the oncologic safety and long-term aesthetic results of endoscopic surgery will become an important research direction.