Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the best way to cure thalassemia, including bone marrow transplant, umbilical cord blood transplantation, intrauterine hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.
OBJECTIVE: To multivariately analyze the literature on the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia through Science Citation Index database and its analysis tool.
METHODS: A computer-based retrieval was performed for the literature of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treatment of thalassemia with the key words hematopoietic stem cell, transplantation, thalassaemia or thalassemia, beta thalassaemia or beta thalassemia or β thalassaemia or β thalassemia published between January 2002 and December 2011 in SCI database. The retrieval results were analyzed, and the trends were described in words and graphics. Articles on the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia including the following types: (1) peer-reviewed original papers; (2) meeting abstracts; (3) proceedings papers; (4) reviews; (5) letters; (6) editorial materials; (7) corrections; (8) book chapter; (9) news items. Exclusive criteria included (1) articles unrelated to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia; (2) articles published before 2002; (3) articles which were not published on journals.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A total of 8 981 literatures on the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia were retrieved in SCI database, most of which were published as original articles. Seven articles were identified as classic literature. The overall number of literature had an upward trend from 2002 to 2011. Blood published most papers in this field (n=1515, 16.87%). This paper provides a valuable reference for researchers to understand the overview and present situation of this field in order to set further research.