Global research trends of lactylation in cancer: a bibliometric analysis

Lactylation, a novel post-translational modification identified in 2019, has gained increasing recognition for its critical role in oncogenesis and cancer progression. However, systematic analyses of research trends in this field using bibliometric approaches remain scarce. This study conducted comprehensive bibliometric evaluations of 240 documents from the Web of Science Core Collection SCI-expanded (SCIE) using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica, focusing on authors, institutions, countries, keywords and citations. Key findings indicate that China and the United States are the predominant contributors to this field, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences being identified as the most productive and influential institution. Temporal analysis demonstrates a threefold increase in the number of publications by 2024, highlighting the field’s rapid expansion. Notably, collaboration remains restricted, as over 95% of partnerships occur within China, which underscores the necessity for strengthened international cooperation. Moreover, our analysis confirms that lactylation serves as a critical mechanistic bridge linking lactate metabolic reprogramming to cancer hallmarks, such as immune evasion, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Through systematic evaluation, we have catalogued thirty-eight non-histone substrates of lactylation implicated in cancer. Overall, this work elucidates the trends and emerging hotspots in cancer-related lactylation research, providing valuable quantitative insights for future investigations.