Global trends and knowledge evolution of tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer immunotherapy: a bibliometric and visualization analysis

Abstract

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are ectopic immune aggregates that arise in non-lymphoid tissues during chronic inflammation, including cancer. Their reported associations with antitumor immunity and immune-checkpoint blockade have prompted rapid growth of the field. We therefore mapped the literature on TLSs in cancer immunotherapy over the prespecified period from January 1, 2000 through March 31, 2026. The primary bibliometric corpus comprised 1,373 English-language articles and reviews from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). PubMed and Scopus were searched independently for descriptive comparison and were not merged with the WoSCC corpus. Analyses used bibliometrix, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, SCImago Graphica, and Microsoft Excel. Publication output rose markedly after 2019 and reached 315 publications in 2025. China, the United States, and France were the leading corresponding-author countries/regions, while INSERM, Sun Yat-sen University, and Fudan University led the distinct-document institutional count. Major mapped themes included B cells, immune-checkpoint blockade, spatial pathology, prognostic modeling, the tumor microenvironment, lymphatic vessels, and high endothelial venules. The independently retrieved PubMed and Scopus datasets showed broadly similar aggregate temporal and title/abstract term profiles. The analysis describes the growth, collaboration structure, and thematic development of TLS research in cancer immunotherapy. These bibliometric patterns indicate research attention; they do not establish biological mechanisms, biomarker performance, therapeutic efficacy, or clinical utility.