What should be the future direction of development in the field of prostate cancer with lung metastasis?

Background: Since the start of the 21 century, prostate cancer with lung metastasis (PCLM) has accumulated significant scientific research output. However, a systematic knowledge framework for PCLM is still lacking.

Aim: To reconstruct the global knowledge system in the field of PCLM, sort out hot research directions, and provide reference for the clinical and mechanism research of PCLM.

Methods: We retrieved 280 high-quality papers from the Web of Science Core Collection and conducted a bibliometric analysis of keywords, publication volume, and citation frequency. Additionally, we selected differentially expressed genes from global high-throughput datasets and performed enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction analysis to further summarize and explore the mechanisms of PCLM.

Results: PCLM has received extensive attention over the past 22 years, but there is an uneven spatial distribution in PCLM research. In the clinical aspect, the treatment of PCLM is mainly based on chemotherapy and immunotherapy, while diagnosis relies on methods such as prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography. In the basic research aspect, the focus is on cell adhesion molecules and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, among others. Traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy, remain the mainstay of PCLM treatment, while novel approaches such as immunotherapy have limited effectiveness in PCLM. This study reveals for the first time that pathways related to coronavirus disease 2019, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and ribosome are closely associated with PCLM.

Conclusion: Future research should focus on exploring and enhancing mechanisms such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and ribosome and improve existing mechanisms like cadherin binding and cell adhesion molecules.