# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Cancer Cells and Metastasis Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/cancer-cells-and-metastasis/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Cancer Cells and Metastasis research in the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in metastasis research is defined by the explosive growth of spatial transcriptomics and deep profiling of the tumor microenvironment. Subpopulation dynamics—particularly regarding cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor-associated macrophages—are driving new mechanistic insights into how spatial cellular interactions fuel cancer spread.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Cancer Cells and Metastasis |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 5,847 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Spatial transcriptomics, single-cell RNA sequencing, cancer-associated fibroblasts, patient-derived organoids |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 62–189 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved September 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Cross-tissue human fibroblast atlas reveals myofibroblast subtypes with distinct roles in immune modulation | Yang Gao, Jianan Li, Wenfeng Cheng, Tian Diao, Huilan Liu, Yufei Bo, Chang Liu, Wei Zhou, Minmin Chen, Yuanyuan Zhang, Zhihua Liu, Weidong Han, Rufu Chen, Jirun Peng, Linnan Zhu, Wenhong Hou, Zemin Zhang | Wenhong Hou, Zemin Zhang | Peking University, China | Cancer Cell | 189 | 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.08.020 |
| 2 | Deterministic reprogramming of neutrophils within tumors | Melissa S F Ng, Immanuel Kwok, Leonard Tan, Changming Shi, Daniela Cerezo-Wallis, Yingrou Tan, Keith Leong, Gabriel F Calvo, Katharine Yang, Yuning Zhang, Jingsi Jin, Ka Hang Liong, Dandan Wu, Rui He, Dehua Liu, Ye Chean Teh, Camille Bleriot, Nicoletta Caronni, Zhaoyuan Liu, Kaibo Duan, Vipin Narang, Iván Ballesteros, Federica Moalli, Mengwei Li, Jinmiao Chen, Yao Liu, Lianxin Liu, Jingjing Qi, Yingbin Liu, Lingxi Jiang, Baiyong Shen, Hui Cheng, Tao Cheng, Veronique Angeli, Ankur Sharma, Yuin-Han Loh, Hong Liang Tey, Shu Zhen Chong, Matteo Iannacone, Renato Ostuni, Andrés Hidalgo, Florent Ginhoux, Lai Guan Ng | Melissa Ng, Immanuel Kwok, Leonard Tan, Chuyan Shi, Lai Guan Ng | Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Singapore | Science | 187 | 10.1126/science.adf6493 |
| 3 | Tumor-associated macrophages restrict CD8+ T cell function through collagen deposition and metabolic reprogramming of the breast cancer microenvironment | Kevin M Tharp, Kelly Kersten, Ori Maller, Greg A Timblin, Connor Stashko, Fernando P Canale, Rosa E Menjivar, Mary-Kate Hayward, Ilona Berestjuk, Johanna Ten Hoeve, Bushra Samad, Alastrair J Ironside, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Alexander Muir, Roger Geiger, Alexis J Combes, Valerie M Weaver | Valerie M. Weaver | University of California San Francisco, United States | Nature Cancer | 154 | 10.1038/s43018-024-00775-4 |
| 4 | Cancer-associated fibroblast phenotypes are associated with patient outcome in non-small cell lung cancer | Lena Cords, Stefanie Engler, Martina Haberecker, Jan Hendrik Rüschoff, Holger Moch, Natalie de Souza, Bernd Bodenmiller | Bernd Bodenmiller | University of Zurich, Switzerland | Cancer Cell | 124 | 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.12.021 |
| 5 | Progressive plasticity during colorectal cancer metastasis | Andrew Moorman, Elizabeth K Benitez, Francesco Cambuli, Qingwen Jiang, Ahmed Mahmoud, Melissa Lumish, Saskia Hartner, Sasha Balkaran, Jonathan Bermeo, Simran Asawa, Canan Firat, Asha Saxena, Fan Wu, Anisha Luthra, Cassandra Burdziak, Yubin Xie, Valeria Sgambati, Kathleen Luckett, Yanyun Li, Zhifan Yi, Ignas Masilionis, Kevin Soares, Emmanouil Pappou, Rona Yaeger, T Peter Kingham, William Jarnagin, Philip B Paty, Martin R Weiser, Linas Mazutis, Michael D'Angelica, Jinru Shia, Julio Garcia-Aguilar, Tal Nawy, Travis J Hollmann, Ronan Chaligné, Francisco Sanchez-Vega, Roshan Sharma, Dana Pe'er, Karuna Ganesh | Dana Pe’er, Karuna Ganesh | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States | Nature | 123 | 10.1038/s41586-024-08150-0 |
| 6 | Tumour vasculature at single-cell resolution | Xu Pan, Xin Li, Liang Dong, Teng Liu, Min Zhang, Lining Zhang, Xiyuan Zhang, Lingjuan Huang, Wensheng Shi, Hongyin Sun, Zhaoyu Fang, Jie Sun, Yaoxuan Huang, Hua Shao, Yeqi Wang, Mingzhu Yin | Mingzhu Yin | Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital, China | Nature | 107 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07698-1 |
| 7 | CAF-macrophage crosstalk in tumour microenvironments governs the response to immune checkpoint blockade in gastric cancer peritoneal metastases | Yuanfang Li, Yongqiang Zheng, Jiaqian Huang, Run-Cong Nie, Qi-Nian Wu, Zhijun Zuo, Shuqiang Yuan, Kai Yu, Cheng-Cai Liang, Yi-Qian Pan, Bai-Wei Zhao, Yuhong Xu, Qihua Zhang, Yashang Zheng, Junquan Chen, Zhao-Lei Zeng, Wei Wei, Ze-Xian Liu, Rui-Hua Xu, Hui-Yan Luo | Zexian Liu, Rui-Hua Xu, Hui Luo | Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China | Gut | 104 | 10.1136/gutjnl-2024-333617 |
| 8 | Human organoids with an autologous tissue-resident immune compartment | Timothy Recaldin, Linda Steinacher, Bruno Gjeta, Marius F Harter, Lukas Adam, Kristina Kromer, Marisa Pimentel Mendes, Marina Bellavista, Mikhail Nikolaev, Giacomo Lazzaroni, Rok Krese, Umut Kilik, Doris Popovic, Bilgenaz Stoll, Régine Gerard, Michael Bscheider, Marc Bickle, Lauriane Cabon, J Gray Camp, Nikolche Gjorevski | Lauriane Cabon, J. Gray Camp, Nikolche Gjorevski | Roche Innovation Center Basel, Switzerland | Nature | 90 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07791-5 |
| 9 | Ononin inhibits triple-negative breast cancer lung metastasis by targeting the EGFR-mediated PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway | Kumar Ganesan, Cong Xu, Jianming Wu, Bing Du, Qingqing Liu, Yue Sui, Cailu Song, Jinhui Zhang, Hailin Tang, Jianping Chen | Hailin Tang, Jianping Chen | The University of Hong Kong, China | Science China Life Sciences | 85 | 10.1007/s11427-023-2499-2 |
| 10 | Cancer stem cell mimicry for immune evasion and therapeutic resistance | Phei Er Saw, Qiang Liu, Ping-Pui Wong, Erwei Song | Erwei Song | Sun Yat-sen University, China | Cell stem cell | 84 | 10.1016/j.stem.2024.06.003 |
| 11 | Cancer-associated fibroblast subtypes modulate the tumor-immune microenvironment and are associated with skin cancer malignancy | Agnes Forsthuber, Bertram Aschenbrenner, Ana Korosec, Tina Jacob, Karl Annusver, Natalia Krajic, Daria Kholodniuk, Sophie Frech, Shaohua Zhu, Kim Purkhauser, Katharina Lipp, Franziska Werner, Vy Nguyen, Johannes Griss, Wolfgang Bauer, Ana Soler Cardona, Benedikt Weber, Wolfgang Weninger, Bernhard Gesslbauer, Clement Staud, Jakob Nedomansky, Christine Radtke, Stephan N Wagner, Peter Petzelbauer, Maria Kasper, Beate M Lichtenberger | Maria Kasper, Beate M. Lichtenberger | Medical University of Vienna, Austria | Nature Communications | 82 | 10.1038/s41467-024-53908-9 |
| 12 | THBS2 + cancer-associated fibroblasts promote EMT leading to oxaliplatin resistance via COL8A1-mediated PI3K/AKT activation in colorectal cancer | Xing Zhou, Jiashu Han, Anning Zuo, Yuhao Ba, Shutong Liu, Hui Xu, Yuyuan Zhang, Siyuan Weng, Zhaokai Zhou, Long Liu, Peng Luo, Quan Cheng, Chuhan Zhang, Yukang Chen, Dan Shan, Benyu Liu, Shuaixi Yang, Xinwei Han, Jinhai Deng, Zaoqu Liu | Xinwei Han, Jinhai Deng, Zaoqu Liu | The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China | Molecular Cancer | 79 | 10.1186/s12943-024-02180-y |
| 13 | An atlas of epithelial cell states and plasticity in lung adenocarcinoma | Guangchun Han, Ansam Sinjab, Zahraa Rahal, Anne M Lynch, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Yuejiang Liu, Alejandra G Serrano, Jiping Feng, Ke Liang, Khaja Khan, Wei Lu, Sharia D Hernandez, Yunhe Liu, Xuanye Cao, Enyu Dai, Guangsheng Pei, Jian Hu, Camille Abaya, Lorena I Gomez-Bolanos, Fuduan Peng, Minyue Chen, Edwin R Parra, Tina Cascone, Boris Sepesi, Seyed Javad Moghaddam, Paul Scheet, Marcelo V Negrao, John V Heymach, Mingyao Li, Steven M Dubinett, Christopher S Stevenson, Avrum E Spira, Junya Fujimoto, Luisa M Solis, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jichao Chen, Linghua Wang, Humam Kadara | Jichao Chen, Linghua Wang, Humam Kadara | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States | Nature | 76 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07113-9 |
| 14 | Deciphering the spatial landscape and plasticity of immunosuppressive fibroblasts in breast cancer | Hugo Croizer, Rana Mhaidly, Yann Kieffer, Geraldine Gentric, Lounes Djerroudi, Renaud Leclere, Floriane Pelon, Catherine Robley, Mylene Bohec, Arnaud Meng, Didier Meseure, Emanuela Romano, Sylvain Baulande, Agathe Peltier, Anne Vincent-Salomon, Fatima Mechta-Grigoriou | Fatima Mechta‐Grigoriou | Institut Curie, France | Nature Communications | 73 | 10.1038/s41467-024-47068-z |
| 15 | Modulating autophagy to boost the antitumor efficacy of TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate in pancreatic cancer | Caili Xu, Xiting Huang, Qinchao Hu, Wenjing Xue, Kaicheng Zhou, Xingxiu Li, Yanyang Nan, Dianwen Ju, Ziyu Wang, Xuyao Zhang | Dianwen Ju, Ziyu Wang, Xuyao Zhang | Fudan University, China | Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy | 68 | 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117550 |
| 16 | Two distinct epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition programs control invasion and inflammation in segregated tumor cell populations | Khalil Kass Youssef, Nitin Narwade, Aida Arcas, Angel Marquez-Galera, Raúl Jiménez-Castaño, Cristina Lopez-Blau, Hassan Fazilaty, David García-Gutierrez, Amparo Cano, Joan Galcerán, Gema Moreno-Bueno, Jose P Lopez-Atalaya, M Angela Nieto | M. Ángela Nieto | Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Spain | Nature Cancer | 67 | 10.1038/s43018-024-00839-5 |
| 17 | Sonodynamic Nano-LYTACs Reverse Tumor Immunosuppressive Microenvironment for Cancer Immunotherapy | Mengke Xu, Yuxuan Hu, Jiayan Wu, Jing Liu, Kanyi Pu | Kanyi Pu | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore | Journal of the American Chemical Society | 67 | 10.1021/jacs.4c13022 |
| 18 | Spatiotemporally resolved colorectal oncogenesis in mini-colons ex vivo | L Francisco Lorenzo-Martín, Tania Hübscher, Amber D Bowler, Nicolas Broguiere, Jakob Langer, Lucie Tillard, Mikhail Nikolaev, Freddy Radtke, Matthias P Lutolf | L. Francisco Lorenzo‐Martín, Matthias P. Lütolf | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland | Nature | 65 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07330-2 |
| 19 | Personalized Vascularized Tumor Organoid‐on‐a‐Chip for Tumor Metastasis and Therapeutic Targeting Assessment | Yang Du, Yi-Ran Wang, Qi-Yuan Bao, Xin-Xin Xu, Congling Xu, Shaoxuan Wang, Qi Liu, Fan Liu, Yu-Lian Zeng, Ya-Jun Wang, Wei Liu, Yixin Liu, Sai-Xi Yu, Yu-Chen Chen, Chen Wang, Weibin Zhang, Hai Gao, Hao Luo, Baohong Liu, Guangyin Jing, Ming Guo, Fei Xavier Chen, Yan-Jun Liu | Yixin Liu, Fei Chen, Yan‐Jun Liu | Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, China | Advanced Materials | 65 | 10.1002/adma.202412815 |
| 20 | PDGFRα+ITGA11+ fibroblasts foster early-stage cancer lymphovascular invasion and lymphatic metastasis via ITGA11-SELE interplay | Hanhao Zheng, Mingjie An, Yuming Luo, Xiayao Diao, Wenlong Zhong, Mingrui Pang, Yan Lin, Jiancheng Chen, Yuanlong Li, Yao Kong, Yue Zhao, Yina Yin, Le Ai, Jian Huang, Changhao Chen, Tianxin Lin | Changhao Chen, Tianxin Lin | Sun Yat-sen University, China | Cancer Cell | 62 | 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.02.002 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in cancer cells and metastasis research is strongly driven by high-resolution multi-omic profiling technologies and deep characterization of the tumor microenvironment (TME). **Spatial transcriptomics** (15 mentions) and **single-cell RNA sequencing** (14 mentions) emerged as the dominant methodological themes, indicating a shift toward mapping cellular interactions in their native architectural context.

A major biological focus of the top-cited papers is the stromal compartment, particularly **cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)** (9 mentions) and **CAF heterogeneity** (7 mentions). Researchers are increasingly dissecting specific subpopulations, such as matrix CAFs, to understand their distinct roles in promoting or restricting tumor progression. Other core themes include **epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)** and the development of advanced functional assays like **patient-derived organoids** (6 mentions) to model these complex dynamics ex vivo. Together, these defining topics illustrate a field that is moving away from bulk tumor analysis toward dissecting the precise cellular state and spatial organization of metastatic niches.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing the top-cited papers of 2024 to the previous cohort reveals a pronounced acceleration in spatial biology and specific TME cell-state analyses. **Spatial transcriptomics** experienced massive growth, increasing 2.5-fold compared to the previous year, highlighting its rapid adoption as a critical tool for mapping metastasis. Similarly, focus on **tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)** spiked significantly (a 5-fold increase), alongside a sharp rise in studies examining distinct fibroblast subpopulations like **matrix CAFs** (up 2.5-fold).

Notably, the application of computational methods for tracking cellular state changes, such as **trajectory inference** and **cell-cell communication patterns**, emerged as rapidly growing areas of interest. Meanwhile, some broader or more established themes, while still highly relevant, saw relative stabilization in the very top tier of citations. The overall trajectory from 2025 to 2026 indicates a field rapidly translating single-cell transcriptomic discoveries into spatially resolved, mechanistic studies of how immune and stromal cells cooperate to facilitate cancer spread.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Cancer Cells and Metastasis Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/cancer-cells-and-metastasis/2026. Accessed 2026-10-29.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```