Scientific production in cancer rehabilitation grows higher: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate scientific production in the field of cancer rehabilitation comparing publication trends and impact factor (IF) among countries. Methods The PubMed database was searched. Publications numbers and IF were evaluated both as absolute values and after standardization by population and gross domestic product (GDP). A dedicated software was developed to create a relational database containing all information about considered publications (Research Management System). Results Some 1,743 publications were retrieved from 1967 to 2008. Cancer rehabilitation publications have grown 11.6 times, while the whole field of disease rehabilitation has grown 7.8 times. Breast neoplasms, squamous cell carcinoma, treatment outcome, endosseous dental implantation, follow-up studies, and surgical flaps were the most commonly used keywords. From 1994 to 2008, 946 citations were retrieved: 36.8% came from the European Union (EU) (Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands ranking at the top) and 36.9% from the USA. The highest mean IF was reported for the USA (3.384) followed by Canada (3.265) and Australia (2.643). The EU has a mean IF of 0.839 with the Netherlands ranking first. Canada, Australia, and the USA had the best ratio between IF (sum) and resident population or GDP. Conclusions Cancer rehabilitation is an expanding area with a growing scientific production. The rapidly ageing population, the higher number of cancer survivors, and the increasing need of resources for the after treatment of cancer patients contribute to explain the interest for this field.