Research trends in cytokine regulation of immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a bibliometric and BERTopic analysis from 2015 to 2025.

BACKGROUND: Cytokines are key regulators of antitumor immunity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly in the context of immunotherapy. However, the global knowledge structure and thematic evolution of cytokine-regulated immunotherapy in NSCLC have not been systematically characterized. This study aimed to delineate publication trends, intellectual structures, and evolving research themes in this field from 2015 to 2025. METHODS: Publications related to cytokine-regulated immunotherapy in NSCLC were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Bibliometric analysis combined with Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers-based topic modeling (BERTopic) was used to evaluate publication trends, countries, institutions, authors, journals, co-cited references, keywords, and thematic evolution. RESULTS: A total of 1,186 publications were included, with annual output increasing steadily over the study period. China contributed the largest number of publications, whereas the United States showed greater citation-based impact, as reflected by total citations and H-index. Institutional and authorship analyses identified an internationally connected research network dominated by Chinese institutions and strengthened by cross-national collaboration. Co-citation and journal analyses showed that research during the earlier post-approval period of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy primarily focused on landmark ICI trials, whereas recent studies have increasingly shifted toward mechanistic and translational investigations. Integrated keyword clustering, burst detection, and BERTopic analyses revealed a thematic transition from clinical efficacy-oriented research to more complex domains, including cytokine networks, tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) remodeling, resistance mechanisms, biomarkers, immune evasion, molecular subtyping, and combination strategies. CONCLUSIONS: This study maps the knowledge structure and research trajectory of cytokine-related immunotherapy in NSCLC. The findings provide a structured framework for future mechanistic studies and may support the development of more precise and effective immunotherapeutic strategies.