A dramatic change has just taken place on the global cancer research map.

According to the latest data from Nature Index, 2024 marks the first time that China will surpass the United States in the number of scientific publications related to cancer, thereby taking the lead in this field.

This strong rise is clearly demonstrated by the growth of the Share index (a measure of contributions to prestigious scientific journals) up to 19% in the year, far exceeding the 5% increase of the United States in the same period (from September 2023 to August 2024).

This is an important turning point, showing China's strong and effective investment in biomedical research in general and cancer in particular in recent years.

The chart tracking the Share Index from 2019 to 2024 shows a continuous and rapid growth trend for China, while the US is still growing but at a slower pace, leading to being surpassed in 2024.

However, when looking at the overall picture from 2019 to 2024, the United States remains number one in terms of the total number of cumulative scientific publications related to cancer, reflecting the country’s strong research base and long history of investment.

In addition, the United States remains a dominant force in international collaboration. Data shows that the United States participates in all 10 of the world’s top cancer research partnerships based on bilateral collaboration scores.

However, collaboration between the two research powerhouses, the US and China, has shown a significant decline since 2021, a trend that could continue if political tensions between the two countries do not improve.

In terms of research institutions, Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) still holds the top position with a Share index of up to 1,169.18 in the period 2019 - August 2024, far surpassing the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing) in second place with 768.09.

Other big US names such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center also feature in the top group, showing the concentrated power at America's top research institutions.

Sun Yat-sen University is another Chinese representative in the top.

Another interesting aspect is the share of cancer research in total research output (represented by the Share index) of each country on the Nature Index. The United States spent 11% of its total Share index on cancer research in the period 2019-2024, higher than any other country in the top 50.

The corresponding figure for China is 9%. This shows that, although China has surpassed the United States in terms of absolute annual scientific publications, cancer research still occupies a relatively larger priority in the US scientific system.

China's rise in cancer research is a clear sign of a shift in the global scientific balance.

Although the United States still maintains its leading position in terms of total cumulative publications, strength of leading research institutes and international collaboration networks, China's remarkable growth is creating increasingly fierce competition, promising to further promote the fight against cancer worldwide./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/trung-quoc-lan-dau-vuot-my-ve-so-luong-cong-bo-khoa-hoc-post1036088.vnp