WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Fakhraldin Marwan Flaih, Omar Basheer Badran*, Ruba Mohammed Ibrahim

ABSTRACT

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent a heterogeneous group of clonal myeloid malignancies with complex pathophysiology and evolving therapeutic landscapes. Despite the initial description of “preleukemia” in 1953, no bibliometric study has systematically mapped the modern 40-year research landscape (1985–2025). Objective: This study provides the most comprehensive analysis to date spanning the post-FAB era (1985–2025), identifying core research themes, landmark contributions, collaborative networks, and paradigm shifts that have shaped the field. Methods: We retrieved 38,500 documents from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases (1985–2025). Bibliometric and network visualization analyses were performed using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the Bibliometrix R package. Co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence analyses were conducted to map the knowledge structure and temporal evolution. Results: MDS research has grown exponentially since 2000, with the United States (31.8% of publications), Germany, and Italy leading productivity. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are the dominant institutions. Blood is the most prolific and influential journal. Key intellectual turning points include: (1) morphological classification era (1982–2000); (2) prognostic scoring systems (IPSS, IPSS-R, 1997–2012); (3) hypomethylating agent revolution (2004–2015); (4) genomic landscape discovery and molecular subclassification (2011–present); and (5) targeted therapy approvals (luspatercept 2020, imetelstat 2024). Current hotspots encompass clonal hematopoiesis, somatic mutations (SF3B1, TP53, IDH1/2), bone marrow microenvironment, immune dysregulation, and disease-modifying therapies. Conclusions: MDS research has undergone profound transformation from morphology-based description to molecularly driven precision medicine. This bibliometric mapping provides researchers and clinicians with a systematic roadmap of the field's evolution, identifies collaborative opportunities, and illuminates emerging frontiers for future investigation.

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