Background <p>Cancer continues to pose a significant global health challenge, with numerous tumors still being identified at advanced stages despite considerable advancements in therapeutic interventions and imaging methodologies. Model organisms play a crucial role in elucidating tumor biology, identifying therapeutic targets, and assessing drug efficacy and toxicity. <i>C. elegans</i>, a simple but genetically tractable metazoan with extensive pathway conservation, is an important model in oncology. However, a comprehensive bibliometric overview of <i>C. elegans</i> in cancer research remains absent. This study aimed to map the knowledge structure and identify research hotspots and frontiers in this field.</p> Methods <p>We retrieved publications on <i>C. elegans</i> and cancer from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Scopus. Country/region and institutional contributions, authorship, journal sources, co-citation networks, and keyword co-occurrence patterns, were systematically visualized and analyzed utilizing VOSviewer, CiteSpace, Scimago Graphica, and Pajek.</p> Results <p>A total of 5007 publications related to <i>C. elegans</i> and cancer were identified, originating from 93 countries/regions, 4,680 institutions, and 1,364 journals. The United States contributed the largest share of outputs and citations, followed by several major European and Asian countries, forming dense international collaboration networks. Co-citation and journal analyses indicated that genetics, cell biology, and oncology constitute the core disciplinary hubs of this field. The analysis of keyword co-occurrence and temporal evolution indicates a transition from fundamental research on conserved signaling pathways, such as RAS, p53, and let-7, as well as stress response mechanisms, to a focus on tumor-centric applications. This shift encompasses the development of model-based anti-cancer drug development and emerging strategies for early cancer detection.</p> Conclusion <p>This bibliometric analysis elucidates the global landscape and dynamic evolution of <i>C. elegans</i> in cancer research. Our findings highlight the growing role of <i>C. elegans</i> in the literature at the intersection of fundamental cancer biology, high-throughput drug discovery, and emerging diagnostic-related research directions. Future work is likely to focus on mechanism-driven target identification, integrated phenotypic and multi-omics screening, and AI-enabled chemotaxis-based approaches for cancer-related detection research and potential precision-oncology-associated applications.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>