Biologic therapy for Crohn’s disease (2015–2025): a bibliometric analysis of global research trends and current status

Abstract

Background Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease with rising global prevalence. Biologic agents have become the cornerstone of treatment for moderate-to-severe CD, yet the rapidly expanding literature makes systematic tracking of research trends challenging. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to systematically map the research landscape of biologic therapy for CD from 2015 to 2025. Methods Publications on biologic therapy for CD were retrieved from the PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus databases for the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2025. To ensure consistency in interpretation and indexing across databases, only English-language articles were included. After deduplication using EndNote and manual screening, 15,828 eligible publications were included in the final analysis. Bibliometric and visualization analyses were performed using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, RStudio, and SCImago Graphica. Metrics including annual publication output, country contributions with centrality analysis (indicating a country’s bridging role in international collaboration networks), institutional collaboration networks, author co-authorship patterns, keyword co-occurrence, cluster analysis, timeline visualization, and citation bursts were systematically examined. Results The annual publication output showed a consistent upward trend. The United States (n = 4,505), China (n = 1,528), and Italy (n = 1,509) were the top three producers; Canada showed the highest centrality (0.93), reflecting its role as a key bridge in transnational collaborations. Keyword co-occurrence revealed a trilevel structure centered on CD, with “biological marker” and “biological product” appearing at near-equal frequencies. Eleven clusters were identified (Q = 0.5991, silhouette = 0.8053), and 25 citation bursts revealed a three-phase evolution from efficacy validation to strategy optimization. Conclusion The bibliometric findings demonstrate that CD biologic therapy research has established a mature ecosystem, with shifting emphases toward biomarker-driven stratification and comparative effectiveness. Future priorities emerging from the data include individualized sequencing strategies, head-to-head comparisons with novel small-molecule agents, and expanded investigation in understudied populations such as adolescents and pregnant women.