Drug repurposing in cancer research: a bibliometric analysis

Cancer is one of the most pressing global health challenges. Drug repurposing is regarded as the most effective strategy in developing drug candidates by using therapeutic characteristics of well-known drugs. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on drug repurposing in cancer research to assess the current state, focal points, and trends of research aimed at offering a comprehensive overview of research development and providing future research directions in the area. Utilizing the Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer, this study examined 1166 documents indexed in the Scopus database covering the period from 2008 to 2024. The findings revealed that this field of research is steadily growing with an annual growth rate of 37.49%. The USA and China emerged as the leading contributors to research in this field, with the journals "Cancers" and "Oncotarget" emerging as the sources with the highest publications and impact, respectively. "Pantziarka P" stood out as the most prolific author, while "Bouche G" emerged as the most impactful author in drug repurposing in cancer research. Notably, subjects such as "antineoplastic activity" garnered considerable attention, highlighting critical research areas within the field. Whereas "pantoprazole" and "transwell assay" emerged as the latest trending topics in the field. Further investigations into antineoplastic agents, transwell assays, and candidate drugs such as pantoprazole are suggested for shaping the research landscape on cancer drug repurposing. The study offers valuable insights into the trajectory of drug repurposing in cancer research and provides researchers with useful guidance for future exploration of this domain.