Document Type : Research Articles
Authors
1
East Asian Studies, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
2
Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
3
Cancer Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
Objective: Cancer represents a major and growing public health burden across Asia, yet cancer research capacity, priorities, and methodologies vary substantially between East Asia (EA) and Southeast Asia (SEA). How scientific activity has evolved across these regions over time remains incompletely characterized. Methods: We conducted a large-scale bibliometric and text-mining analysis of PubMed-indexed cancer-related publications from 2000 to 2025, covering 18 countries and territories in EA and SEA. Publication metadata, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), author affiliations, and country information were systematically extracted and harmonized. Temporal publication trends were assessed using raw counts and GDP-normalized metrics. Tumor-type emphasis and methodological focus were examined using MeSH-based analyses. Latent research themes were identified using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). International collaboration patterns were reconstructed through country-level co-affiliation networks across three time periods. Results: Cancer research output increased markedly across both regions, with EA accounting for substantially higher absolute publication volumes, driven primarily by China, Japan, and Korea. After normalization by GDP, several smaller but research-intensive systems—including Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam demonstrated high productivity relative to economic scale. Tumor-type analyses revealed strong alignment between research focus and regional cancer epidemiology, including liver and cholangiocarcinoma in SEA and gastric and lung cancer in EA. Methodological comparisons showed a clear regional divergence: EA research emphasized molecular, mechanistic, and translational approaches, whereas SEA research was enriched for cohort-based, epidemiologic, and public–health-oriented studies. Topic modeling and collaboration networks further highlighted complementary regional strengths and increasing global integration over time. Conclusions: Cancer research in EA and SEA has expanded and diversified over the past 25 years, reflecting regional differences in disease burden, infrastructure, and policy priorities. Our findings underscore the importance of targeted public health strategies, sustained investment in regionally relevant cancer research capacity, and strengthened international collaboration frameworks to promote more equitable and effective cancer control across Asia.
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