Global research landscapes of ALDH2 and cancer revealed by bibliometric analysis

Recent years have seen a marked increase in studies focusing on the mechanistic role of Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genetic polymorphisms in tumors, yet this field lacks systematic bibliometric analysis. By analyzing publication years, countries/regions, research institutions, disciplinary domains, authorship networks, journal distributions, and keyword networks, this study reveals that global research interest in ALDH2 and tumors continues to rise. China, the United States, and Japan form the core contributing triangle, with institutions such as Aichi Cancer Center and Stanford University leading cutting-edge exploration. The research landscape concentrates on oncology, biochemistry and molecular biology, and cell biology, while interdisciplinary immunology provides innovative perspectives. Key future directions include elucidating the regulatory networks of ALDH2 polymorphisms in the metabolism-cancer axis and their associations with gastrointestinal and hematologic malignancies, alongside mechanistic studies encompassing oxidative stress modulation, ferroptosis regulation, DNA adduct formation, apoptotic cascades, DNA methylation, senescence-associated secretory phenotypes and tumor immune escape microenvironment dynamics.