To characterize the current landscape and future directions of academic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by using bibliometric analysis.

We used the Web of Science Core Collection to conduct a bibliometric analysis of leading BPH articles. Bibliometric analyses are quantitative approaches examining the impact of academic literature. We used the following search terms and Boolean logic “(“benign prostat*”) AND (hyperplasia OR enlarg*)” and characterized the 100 most-cited BPH articles through 2018 including citations, journal, author, year, and country.

The top 100 BPH articles were published between 1978 and 2012. Citations ranged from 153 to 2171 across 27 different journals, including 10 urology-specific journals. The Journal of Urology was the most published journal (n = 25), followed by European Urology (n = 17), and Urology (n = 15). In general, the oldest 10 articles focused on BPH etiology/pathogenesis, while the newest 10 focused on treatment. The 1990’s was the most productive decade with nearly half of the top 100 articles (n = 44). Twenty-six different countries contributed to the top 100 articles, with the US (n = 74), Italy (n = 19), and Canada (n = 12) being the most common.

This study represents the first bibliometric analysis of the leading BPH articles impacting the academic literature. The focus has evolved from BPH pathogenesis to treatment, perhaps reflecting a shift in research funding and capacity. These findings may guide research priorities for this increasingly common condition.