Advances and emerging trends in the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer liver metastasis: a bibliometric analysis

Colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM) significantly reduces the survival rate of colorectal cancer patients and increases the complexity of treatment decisions. Analyzing the dynamic interplay of cellular subtypes and phenotypic characteristics in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is essential for developing effective anti-cancer therapies and improving prognosis. Consequently, this research employs bibliometric methods to systematically examine current research focus and emerging developments in the TME associated with CRLM. A systematic search of the Web of Science Core Collection was undertaken to retrieve studies released between January 2012 and March 2025. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were mainly used to analyze and visualize country, institution, author, journal, reference, and keyword. A total of 362 studies were ultimately included in the analysis. China emerged as the leading contributor, followed by the USA, with notable collaborative strength between these nations. Among the institutions, Sun Yat-sen University has the highest publication output. Huang Leaf was the most productive author and Cancer emerged as the most prolific journal. Timeline analysis of keyword clusters demonstrated a persistent research focus on CRLM, liver metastasis, and tumor microenvironment, with immune-related keywords ("immunotherapy," "immune microenvironment," and "PD-L1") gradually emerging since 2020. Scholars are progressively unraveling the full complexity of the TME in CRLM, and strengthening international cooperation will help accelerate this process. Understanding the dynamic evolution mechanisms of TME following drug treatment and identifying novel therapeutic targets are priorities for future research.