# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/cancer-related-molecular-mechanisms-research/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research research in the Class of 2026?

Ferroptosis, lipid peroxidation, and long non-coding RNAs dominate the most impactful cancer molecular mechanism research of 2024. While targeted topics like immune evasion surged significantly, broader subjects like biomarkers and metastasis saw a relative decline compared to the previous year.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 12,024 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Ferroptosis, Lipid peroxidation, Long non-coding RNA, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 56–178 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | miRTarBase 2025: updates to the collection of experimentally validated microRNA–target interactions | Shidong Cui, Sicong Yu, Hsi-Yuan Huang, Yang-Chi-Dung Lin, Yixian Huang, Bojian Zhang, Jihan Xiao, Huali Zuo, Jiayi Wang, Zhuoran Li, Guanghao Li, Jiajun Ma, Baiming Chen, Haoxuan Zhang, Jiehui Fu, Liang Wang, Hsien-Da Huang | Liang Wang | The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China | Nucleic Acids Research | 178 | 10.1093/nar/gkae1072 |
| 2 | Phospholipids with two polyunsaturated fatty acyl tails promote ferroptosis | Baiyu Qiu, Fereshteh Zandkarimi, Carla T Bezjian, Eduard Reznik, Rajesh Kumar Soni, Wei Gu, Xuejun Jiang, Brent R Stockwell | Brent R. Stockwell | Columbia University, United States | Cell | 167 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.030 |
| 3 | Zeb1 mediates EMT/plasticity-associated ferroptosis sensitivity in cancer cells by regulating lipogenic enzyme expression and phospholipid composition | Annemarie Schwab, Zhigang Rao, Jie Zhang, André Gollowitzer, Katharina Siebenkäs, Nino Bindel, Elisabetta D'Avanzo, Ruthger van Roey, Yussuf Hajjaj, Ece Özel, Isabell Armstark, Leonhard Bereuter, Fengting Su, Julia Grander, Ehsan Bonyadi Rad, Arwin Groenewoud, Felix B Engel, George W Bell, Whitney S Henry, José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, Marc P Stemmler, Simone Brabletz, Andreas Koeberle, Thomas Brabletz | Andreas Koeberle, Thomas Brabletz | Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany | Nature Cell Biology | 108 | 10.1038/s41556-024-01464-1 |
| 4 | Targeting and engineering long non-coding RNAs for cancer therapy | Michela Coan, Simon Haefliger, Samir Ounzain, Rory Johnson | Rory Johnson | University College Dublin, Ireland | Nature Reviews Genetics | 105 | 10.1038/s41576-024-00693-2 |
| 5 | Claudin 18.2 as a novel therapeutic target | Izuma Nakayama, Changsong Qi, Yang Chen, Yoshiaki Nakamura, Lin Shen, Kohei Shitara | Lin Shen, Kohei Shitara | National Cancer Center Hospital East, Japan | Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology | 92 | 10.1038/s41571-024-00874-2 |
| 6 | PD-1 signaling limits expression of phospholipid phosphatase 1 and promotes intratumoral CD8+ T cell ferroptosis | Yu Ping, Jiqi Shan, Haiming Qin, Feng Li, Jiao Qu, Ru Guo, Dong Han, Wei Jing, Yaqing Liu, Jinyan Liu, Zhangnan Liu, Jieyao Li, Dongli Yue, Feng Wang, Liping Wang, Bin Zhang, Bo Huang, Yi Zhang | Yi Zhang | Zhengzhou University, China | Immunity | 88 | 10.1016/j.immuni.2024.08.003 |
| 7 | Lactate reprograms glioblastoma immunity through CBX3-regulated histone lactylation | Shuai Wang, Tengfei Huang, Qiulian Wu, Huairui Yuan, Xujia Wu, Fanen Yuan, Tingting Duan, Suchet Taori, Yingming Zhao, Nathaniel W Snyder, Dimitris G Placantonakis, Jeremy N Rich | Dimitris G. Placantonakis, Jeremy N. Rich | University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, United States | Journal of Clinical Investigation | 88 | 10.1172/jci176851 |
| 8 | Itaconate transporter SLC13A3 impairs tumor immunity via endowing ferroptosis resistance | Heng Lin, Kole Tison, Yuheng Du, Paul Kirchhoff, Chan Kim, Weichao Wang, Hannah Yang, Michael Pitter, Jiali Yu, Peng Liao, Jiajia Zhou, Linda Vatan, Sara Grove, Shuang Wei, Thomas Vigil, Yatrik M Shah, Richard Mortensen, Ilona Kryczek, Lana Garmire, Jwala P Sivaccumar, Ashwin Kumar Ramesh, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An, Shaomeng Wang, Weiping Zou | Heng Lin | University of Michigan, United States | Cancer Cell | 75 | 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.10.010 |
| 9 | OPA1 promotes ferroptosis by augmenting mitochondrial ROS and suppressing an integrated stress response | Felix G Liang, Fereshteh Zandkarimi, Jaehoon Lee, Joshua L Axelrod, Ryan Pekson, Yisang Yoon, Brent R Stockwell, Richard N Kitsis | Richard N. Kitsis | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States | Molecular Cell | 71 | 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.07.020 |
| 10 | RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis | Zhongyu Zou, Xiaoyang Dou, Ying Li, Zijie Zhang, Juan Wang, Boyang Gao, Yu Xiao, Yiding Wang, Lijie Zhao, Chenxi Sun, Qinzhe Liu, Xianbin Yu, Hao Wang, Juyeong Hong, Qing Dai, Feng-Chun Yang, Mingjiang Xu, Chuan He | Mingjiang Xu, Chuan He | The University of Chicago, United States | Nature | 69 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07969-x |
| 11 | Spatial transcriptomics reveals discrete tumour microenvironments and autocrine loops within ovarian cancer subclones | Elena Denisenko, Leanne de Kock, Adeline Tan, Aaron B Beasley, Maria Beilin, Matthew E Jones, Rui Hou, Dáithí Ó Muirí, Sanela Bilic, G Raj K A Mohan, Stuart Salfinger, Simon Fox, Khaing P W Hmon, Yen Yeow, Youngmi Kim, Rhea John, Tami S Gilderman, Emily Killingbeck, Elin S Gray, Paul A Cohen, Yu Yu, Alistair R R Forrest | Elena Denisenko, Paul A. Cohen, Yu Yu, Alistair R. R. Forrest | Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Australia | Nature Communications | 66 | 10.1038/s41467-024-47271-y |
| 12 | crVDAC3 alleviates ferroptosis by impeding HSPB1 ubiquitination and confers trastuzumab deruxtecan resistance in HER2-low breast cancer | Yutian Zou, Anli Yang, Bo Chen, Xinpei Deng, Jindong Xie, Danian Dai, Jinhui Zhang, Hailin Tang, Tao Wu, Zhigang Zhou, Xiaoming Xie, Jin Wang | Jindong Xie, Tao Wu, Zhigang Zhou, Xiaoming Xie, Jin Wang | Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China | Drug Resistance Updates | 66 | 10.1016/j.drup.2024.101126 |
| 13 | NF-κB role on tumor proliferation, migration, invasion and immune escape | Afrasyab Khan, Yao Zhang, Ningna Ma, Juanjuan Shi, Yongzhong Hou | Yongzhong Hou | Jiangsu University, China | Cancer Gene Therapy | 65 | 10.1038/s41417-024-00811-6 |
| 14 | A non-canonical role for a small nucleolar RNA in ribosome biogenesis and senescence | Yujing Cheng, Siwen Wang, He Zhang, Jong-Sun Lee, Chunyang Ni, Jason Guo, Eric Chen, Shenming Wang, Asha Acharya, Tsung-Cheng Chang, Michael Buszczak, Hao Zhu, Joshua T Mendell | Joshua T. Mendell | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States | Cell | 60 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.019 |
| 15 | PTBP1 Lactylation Promotes Glioma Stem Cell Maintenance through PFKFB4-Driven Glycolysis | Zijian Zhou, Xianyong Yin, Hao Sun, Jiaze Lu, Yuming Li, Yang Fan, Peiwen Lv, Min Han, Jing Wu, Shengjie Li, Zihao Liu, Hongbo Zhao, Haohan Sun, Hao Fan, Shan Wang, Tao Xin | Zijian Zhou, Xianyong Yin, Hao Sun | The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, China | Cancer Research | 60 | 10.1158/0008-5472.can-24-1412 |
| 16 | SOX17 enables immune evasion of early colorectal adenomas and cancers | Norihiro Goto, Peter M K Westcott, Saori Goto, Shinya Imada, Martin S Taylor, George Eng, Jonathan Braverman, Vikram Deshpande, Tyler Jacks, Judith Agudo, Ömer H Yilmaz | Judith Agudo, Ömer H. Yilmaz | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States | Nature | 59 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07135-3 |
| 17 | Mitophagy mediated by BNIP3 and NIX protects against ferroptosis by downregulating mitochondrial reactive oxygen species | Shun-Ichi Yamashita, Yuki Sugiura, Yuta Matsuoka, Rae Maeda, Keiichi Inoue, Kentaro Furukawa, Tomoyuki Fukuda, David C Chan, Tomotake Kanki | Shun‐ichi Yamashita, Tomotake Kanki | Niigata University, Japan | Cell Death and Differentiation | 58 | 10.1038/s41418-024-01280-y |
| 18 | Revealing the role of serum exosomal novel long non-coding RNA NAMPT-AS as a promising diagnostic/prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer patients | Nehal I Rizk, Dina H Kassem, Ahmed I Abulsoud, Sherif AbdelHalim, Montaser Bellah Yasser, Mohamed M Kamal, Nadia M Hamdy | Mohamed M. Kamal, Nadia Μ. Hamdy | Heliopolis University, Egypt | Life Sciences | 57 | 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.122850 |
| 19 | Targeted activation of ferroptosis in colorectal cancer via LGR4 targeting overcomes acquired drug resistance | Hao Zheng, Jinming Liu, Qi Cheng, Qianping Zhang, Yaoyao Zhang, Lingyu Jiang, Yan Huang, Wenlei Li, Yanping Zhao, Guo Chen, Fan Yu, Lei Liu, Yanjun Li, Xudong Liao, Lai Xu, Yi Xiao, Zhibo Zheng, Ming Li, Hongyi Wang, Gang Hu, Lei Du, Quan Chen | Quan Chen | Nankai University, China | Nature Cancer | 56 | 10.1038/s43018-023-00715-8 |
| 20 | Integrative analysis of genomic and epigenomic regulation reveals miRNA mediated tumor heterogeneity and immune evasion in lower grade glioma | Zhen Yang, Xiaocen Liu, Hao Xu, Andrew E Teschendorff, Lingjie Xu, Jingyi Li, Minjie Fu, Jun Liu, Hanyu Zhou, Yingying Wang, Licheng Zhang, Yungang He, Kun Lv, Hui Yang | Zhen Yang, Kun Lv, Hui Yang | Fudan University, China | Communications Biology | 56 | 10.1038/s42003-024-06488-9 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

Ferroptosis and lipid peroxidation are the most prominent themes defining the 2024 cohort for cancer molecular mechanisms, reflecting a deep, growing interest in targeting alternative cell death pathways for cancer therapy. Non-coding RNAs, particularly long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and epigenetic modifications like N6-methyladenosine (m6A) also feature heavily, underscoring the critical role of post-transcriptional regulation in tumor progression. The prominence of these highly specific molecular mechanisms highlights a broader shift towards precision oncology and the search for novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer cells.

*Leading research themes*

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

The transition from the 2023 to 2024 cohort reveals a notable shift towards specialized, actionable mechanisms. Topics like immune evasion and cancer immunotherapy saw the most significant growth, with immune evasion experiencing an impressive 3.5-fold increase in relative frequency. Ferroptosis and lipid peroxidation also continued to rise. Conversely, broader, more traditional topics such as biomarkers, cell death, and metastasis decreased in relative prominence. This trend indicates a maturing field where researchers are increasingly focusing on the precise molecular interactions that drive therapeutic resistance and immune escape, rather than general tumor characteristics.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/cancer-related-molecular-mechanisms-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-20.

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
```