DOI: 10.32322/jhsm.2025826 ISSN: 2636-8579

Theranostics in thyroid cancer: a bibliometric analysis of the evolution of nuclear medicine from diagnosis to personalized treatment

Halim Özçevik
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Aims: Thyroid cancer is a foundational model for theranostics, integrating targeted diagnosis and therapy through common biological markers. This study evaluates the scientific evolution, collaboration networks, and thematic structure of thyroid cancer theranostics using bibliometric and science mapping methods.Methods: A structured search across Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and PubMed yielded 892 unique documents after deduplication. Bibliometric parameters, bibliometric growth models, citation impacts, collaboration networks, and conceptual structures were analyzed using Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny and TALL software.Results: The dataset comprised 892 documents from 381 sources spanning 1996-2026, with an annual growth rate of 16.46% for the complete-year period 1996-2025 and an average of 34.12 citations per document. Publication output accelerated after 2018 and peaked in 2023 (n=99). Cabanillas ME was the most prolific author (n=20), whereas Basu S had the highest fractionalized publication count (7.08). The USA-Germany collaboration represented the strongest international link (n=21). Conceptual analyses highlighted radioiodine, differentiated thyroid cancer, theranostics, redifferentiation, molecular imaging, and targeted therapies as the dominant research axes. The thematic map identified differentiated thyroid cancer with sorafenib and lenvatinib as a motor theme, while radioiodine with dabrafenib and trametinib occupied a transitional position.Conclusion: The literature reflects a major shift from traditional I-131 monotherapy toward multi-target, personalized radiotheranostics. The integration of advanced molecular imaging with emerging targeted therapies and immunotherapies defines the future trajectory of nuclear medicine in thyroid cancer.

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