KRAS-Targeting Agents in Cancer: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends and Emerging Hotspots from 2006 to 2026

Purpose To characterize the global research landscape, collaboration patterns, intellectual structure, and emerging hotspots of KRAS-targeted therapy in cancer using bibliometric and science-mapping methods. Methods Web of Science Core Collection records from 2006 to 2026 were analyzed after restriction to articles and reviews. Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, R, and Microsoft Excel were used to evaluate annual publication output, citation patterns, country and institutional activity, source distribution, author productivity, co-occurrence networks, co-citation structure, co-authorship, and trend topics. Results The final dataset included 3,265 publications, comprising 2,675 articles and 590 reviews, distributed across 723 sources and citing 88,334 references. Annual publication output increased gradually through the 2010s and accelerated after 2020, reaching its highest level in 2025. Country-affiliation occurrence frequency was highest for the USA and China, while country-level citation impact was led by the USA. Major sources included Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, and Annals of Oncology. Trend-topic and co-occurrence analyses showed a temporal shift from indirect KRAS-targeting approaches, pathway inhibition, synthetic lethality, and preclinical tumor models toward KRAS G12C, AMG 510, KRAS inhibition, efficacy, KRAS G12D, resistance, and molecular targeted therapy. Conclusion KRAS-targeted therapy research has evolved from a historically pathway-centered and indirect-targeting literature into a rapidly expanding precision-oncology field. Current bibliometric patterns highlight direct mutant KRAS inhibition, resistance biology, allele-specific targeting beyond G12C, and clinically oriented molecular targeted therapy as major research frontiers. These bibliometric findings should be interpreted as indicators of research activity and intellectual structure rather than evidence of therapeutic efficacy.