A THE ROLE OF EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) IN GASTRIC CANCER RESEARCH: A LITERATURE-BASED BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW

Abstract

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a pivotal biological program implicated in gastric cancer (GC) progression and metastasis by enhancing cellular plasticity, invasion, and therapy resistance. This study maps the scholarly landscape of the EMT–GC nexus through a bibliometric analysis. The Scopus database was queried using the keywords “gastric cancer,” “stomach cancer,” and “epithelial–mesenchymal transition,” and retrieved records were systematically categorized by publication year, country, institution, and citation indicators; additional filters were applied to enhance reliability. In total, 4,152 research and review articles were analyzed. Outputs were sparse in the early 2000s, accelerated after 2010, and peaked between 2020 and 2022. Citation trends highlight metastasis biology, molecular regulators of EMT, the tumor microenvironment, RNA-based regulatory networks, and immunotherapy as dominant thematic clusters. Country-level analyses indicate that China accounts for more than two-thirds of publications, whereas the United States and Japan—despite lower volumes—contribute substantially via methodological diversity and high-impact syntheses. At the institutional level, the top ten contributors are all China-based. Network analysis further suggests that, notwithstanding rapid growth, cross-border collaboration remains limited. Overall, the field exhibits an Asia-centered publication ecosystem. Future progress will likely depend on multi-center, interdisciplinary collaborations and the integration of multi-omics strategies to validate EMT biomarkers and translate mechanistic insights into clinical utility.