DKK1 and lung cancer: DKK1 perturbation altered lactate-enhanced migratory and invasive phenotypes and was accompanied by changes in intracellular lactate levels and global protein lactylation, supporting a potential feedforward relationship between lactate exposure, DKK1 expression, and lactylation.<h4>Conclusions</h4>This study characterizes lactate-associated molecular heterogeneity in lung cancer and provides a lactate-related subtype framework and prognostic risk model for patient stratification.