Review of bibliometric data shows growing research interest in macrophage polarization strategies for prostate cancer since 2015

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Frontiers in Medicine Published May 7, 2026 Medically reviewed May 7, 2026 Study authors: Pengze Wu, Lin Chen, Jin Yang, Chengwu He, Aifa Tang, Yafei Yang DOI ↗ By Dr. Amelia Tan, PhD · Internal Medicine & Chronic Disease

Key Takeaway

Note growing research interest in macrophage polarization strategies for prostate cancer since 2015

This publication is a bibliometric and visual analysis review rather than a primary clinical trial. The scope covers publications related to macrophage polarization and activation in prostate cancer, including eligible interventional clinical trials. The analysis included 20 trials involving strategies such as CSF1R inhibition, TAM reprogramming, checkpoint blockade, and combination therapies. The review specifically mentions medications cabiralizumab and PLX3397 within the context of these strategies.

The authors report that research interest in macrophage polarization has been growing since 2015. This trend reflects a broader shift toward investigating macrophage-related mechanisms in the disease. The review does not report specific primary or secondary outcomes, adverse events, or safety data for the individual trials included in the bibliometric synthesis. Consequently, no specific efficacy or safety conclusions can be drawn from this descriptive analysis.

The practice relevance of this work highlights the increasing translational focus on tumor-associated macrophage and tumor microenvironment-targeted therapies in prostate cancer. Readers should note that this source is a descriptive synthesis and does not provide evidence for clinical efficacy or causality between macrophage polarization and disease progression. The study phase and follow-up duration were not reported in the source material.

Study Details

Study typeSystematic review

EvidenceLevel 1

PublishedMay 2026

View Original Abstract ↓

Macrophage polarization plays a critical role in shaping the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) of prostate cancer (PCa). Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), particularly those exhibiting immunoregulatory and tumor-promoting transcriptional programs, contribute to disease progression, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance. To comprehensively map the research landscape of macrophage polarization and activation in PCa using bibliometric tools and to assess translational progress through a review of clinical trials. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R, based on publications related to macrophage polarization and activation in PCa. Additionally, eligible interventional clinical trials in prostate cancer were identified through predefined searches of ClinicalTrials.gov and PubMed, and 20 trials were included in the descriptive synthesis. Bibliometric findings revealed growing research interest in macrophage polarization since 2015, with key themes including immune suppression, cytokine signaling, and therapeutic resistance. High-frequency keywords highlighted macrophage plasticity/heterogeneity (often captured by M1/M2-related terms in the literature), immune checkpoints, and TME reprogramming. Clinical trials investigated a range of strategies, including CSF1R inhibition (e.g., cabiralizumab, PLX3397), TAM reprogramming strategies, checkpoint blockade, and combination therapies with PARP inhibitors, radiotherapy, and vaccines. The integration of bibliometric insights with clinical trial and published data highlights the increasing translational focus on TAM/TME-targeted therapies in PCa. These findings underscore macrophage polarization as a promising immunotherapeutic axis and emphasize the need for further clinical innovation and biomarker-driven strategies.