Online Submissions
Already have a Username/Password for Current Oncology?
Go to Login
Need a Username/Password?
Go to Registration
Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions.
Author Guidelines
INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS
All original articles submitted for publication will be refereed by at least two reviewers.
AUTHORS' PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES Upon completion of galley proofs, a waiver must be signed and faxed to our office.
Authorship Only those persons who contributed directly to the intellectual content of the paper should be listed as authors. Authors should meet all of the following criteria: 1. Conceived and planned the work that led to the paper; 2. Wrote the paper, or reviewed successive versions and took part in the revision process; 3. Approved the final version. Holding positions of administrative leadership, contributing patients, and collection and assembling data, are not, by themselves, criteria for authorship. Other persons who have made substantial, direct contributions to the work but cannot be considered authors should be acknowledged with their permission. In a cover letter, authors must disclose any financial interests, direct or indirect that might affect the conduct or reporting of the work they have submitted.
Project Sources of outside support for research, including funding, equipment, and drugs, must be named in the cover letter. The role(s) of the funding organization, if any, in the collection of data, its analysis and interpretation, and in the right to approve or disapprove publication of the finished manuscript must be described in the Methods section of the text.
Previous or Duplicate Publication In the cover letter, give full details on any possible previous or duplicate publication of any content of the paper. Previous publication of a small fraction of the content of a paper does not necessarily preclude its being published, but the Editors need information about previous publication when deciding how to use space in the Journal efficiently; they regard failure of full disclosure by authors of possible prior publication as a breach of scientific ethics. Please send a copy of any document that might be considered a previous publication.
Informed Consent When appropriate, authors should state in the Methods section the procedure used to ensure adherence to ethical guidelines on informed consent and should affirm that such consent was obtained. The statement should confirm review of the study by the appropriate institutional review board or affirmation that the protocol is consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki as amended in Tokyo (1975), Venice (1983), and Hong Kong (1989) (1).
Statement of Authorship All authors of papers accepted for publication are required to sign a form affirming that they have met the criteria for authorship, have agreed to be authors, and are aware of the terms of publication. Full-length papers should be typed, double-spaced, in English, with an Abstract summarizing briefly the essential contents (see below). Manuscripts should be accompanied by:
1. The name, address, fax, and phone number of the author to whom correspondence should be sent;
2. Copies of any published reports that may duplicate material in the submitted manuscript;
3. Written permission of author(s) and publisher(s) to use any previously published material (figures, tables, or quotations of more than 100 words).
Authors should retain an additional copy of the manuscript and figures for their own files. A copyright transfer must be signed and dated by all authors and returned to the Editor.
Letters to the Editor: Letters dealing with published articles or matters of interest to researchers are invited. They should be short (no more than two pages, key references included), typed double-spaced, and include references where appropriate. Where a published article is involved, the original author(s) will be invited to submit a response.
Book Reviews: Authors are invited to submit suggestions for book review to the Editorial Office.
Announcements and Calendar: The Editors welcome notices of meetings, conferences, and other events of interest to the oncology community. All such items will be listed (at no charge) in each issue of the Journal and be continually updated.
Nomenclature and Abbreviations: Where possible, nomenclature and abbreviations should be in accordance with internationally agreed rules.
Manuscript Preparation: The top margin on the title page should be 5 cm deep, all other margins should be 2.5 cm. Use double spacing throughout, including the references and figure legends. Organize the manuscript in the order indicated below, with each component beginning on a separate page. Type a running title and page number in the upper right hand corner of each page.
Title Page: Page 1 should include:
1. The title of the article (80 spaces maximum);
2. The authors' full names [first name, middle initial(s), and surname];
3. Affiliations [the name of department (if any), institution, city, and state or country where the work was done], indicating which authors are associated with which affiliations;
4. Acknowledgments of grant support and of individuals who were of direct help in the preparation of the study;
5. The name, address, fax, email, and telephone number of the corresponding author and, if different, the author to whom reprint requests are to be sent; and
6. Running title (not more than 30 spaces).
Abstracts and Key Words: Page 2 should include the title of the article followed by an Abstract in a structured form according to the format proposed by Haynes and colleagues (Ann Intern Med 1990; 113:6976). Following the Abstract, list up to eight key words or phrases for indexing.
Text: All manuscripts should be typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced (see above).
Abbreviations and Symbols: Do not use abbreviations unless absolutely necessary; do not abbreviate the names of symptoms or diseases (myocardial infarction, not MI) or anatomical and histological characteristics (left ventricular, not LV); do not explain abbreviations for units of measurement [3 mL, not 3 milliliters (mL)] or standard scientific symbols [Na, not sodium (Na)]. Do abbreviate long names of chemical substances and terms for therapeutic combinations, such as MOPP. Abbreviate names of tests and procedures that are better known by their abbreviations than by the full name (VDRL test, SMA-12). Abbreviate units of measurement when they appear with numerals (measured in milliliters, but 10 mL). Use abbreviations in figures and tables to save space. Explain all abbreviations used in the figure legend or table footnote.
Units of Measurement: Use SI units throughout. When units other than SI units are widely used, they can be indicated in parentheses after the SI unit. The Editorial Office will provide conversion information with the article when appropriate.
Proprietary and Generic Names: Generic names must be used for all drugs. Include the proprietary name if it is more commonly known than the generic name; to differentiate among drug forms; or if a specific trade preparation was used in a study or involved in an adverse effect. Instruments may be referred to by proprietary name; the name and location of the manufacturers must be given in parentheses in the text.
Short communications should be organized in the following format: Introduction, Materials and Methods (or Experimental Procedures), Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, Abbreviation list, References. Authors may insert a short summary/conclusion section following the discussion section if they wish. In some cases, results and discussion sections may more appropriately be combined than separated (at the author's discretion). Short communications should be no longer than six double-spaced typewritten pages, including figures, tables, and key references. Short communications do not require an Abstract. Other descriptive headings and subheadings may be used if appropriate. Every effort should be made to avoid jargon, to spell out all nonstandard abbreviations the first time they are mentioned, and to present the contents of the study as clearly and concisely as possible.
Review articles should be organized in the following form: Outline (using main and second-order section headings), Introduction, Text, Conclusions or Summary, Acknowledgments (optional), Appendices (optional), Abbreviations list, References.
References: To assist in article submissions to Current Oncology, authors can download the Endnote style. When used with the Endnote program, this style will format your manuscripts in-text citations and reference lists to suit the journal's referencing requirements. If you are unable to access this program, the formats of the references are described below.
Do: 1. Number references in the order in which they are first cited in the text; 2. Use Arabic numerals in parentheses; 3. Use the reference style of the National Library of Medicine, including the abbreviations of journal titles; 4. Provide complete data for each reference; 5. Include an available from note for documents that may not be readily accessible; 6. Cite symposium papers only from published proceedings; 7. When citing an article or book accepted for publication but not yet published, include the title of the journal (or name of the publisher) and the year of expected publication; and 8. Include references to unpublished material in the text, not in the references [for example, papers presented orally at a meeting; unpublished work (personal communications, papers in preparation)] and submit a letter of permission from the cited persons to cite such communications. Do not use ibid. or op cit. The sample references below are based on the style specified by the Uniform Requirements agreement (2).
Journals: List all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al.
1. Standard article: List all authors or editors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al. Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996;124:9803.
2. Corporate author The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust 1996;164:2824.
3. Supplement Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994;102(suppl 1):27582.
4. Special format (also applies to Abstracts and Editorials). Enzensberger W, Fischer PA. Metronome in Parkinsons disease [letter]. Lancet 1996;347:1337.
Books: List all authors or editors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al.
1. Author Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and Leadership Skills for Nurses. 2nd ed. Albany, NY: Delmar; 1996.
2. Editors Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, eds. Mental Health Care for Elderly People. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.
3. Chapter in a book Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, eds. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995: 46578.
4. Published proceedings paper Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, eds. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics; September 610, 1992; Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: NorthHolland; 1992: 15615.
Other Citations in Reference List:
1. In press (must have journal title) Leshner AI. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine addiction. N Engl J Med 1996; [in press].
2. Magazine article Roberts JL. Villain or victim? Newsweek 1996; November 4: 401.
In-Text Citations of Unpublished Material (to be placed within parentheses):
1. Personal communication (Strott CA, Nugent CA. Personal communication).
2. Unpublished papers (Lerner RA, Dixon FJ. The induction of acute glomerulonephritis in rats. In preparation) (Smith J. New agents for cancer chemotherapy. Presented at the Third Annual Meeting of the American Cancer Society; June 13, 1983; New York).
Tables: Authors are asked to keep each table to a reasonable size; very large tables packed with data simply confuse the reader. Each table and every column should be provided with an explanatory heading, with units of measure clearly indicated. The same data should not be reproduced in both tables and figures. Footnotes to a table should be indicated by superscript, lowercase letters. Tables and illustrations (along with their footnotes or captions) should be completely intelligible without reference to the text. Original (not photographed) copies should be submitted.
Figures: Illustrations for reproduction should normally be about twice the size required. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed. Photographs of tissues, cells, or subcellular components should be included only when they are essential. Figure Legends: Legends should be typed double-spaced and numbered with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations and submitted on a separate page. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify part of the illustrations, each should be explained clearly in the legend. The legends should permit the figures to be understood without reference to the text. If the figure has been previously published, a credit line should be included and a permission letter supplied by the author.
Review and Production Process: All manuscripts are peer reviewed. All material accepted for publication is subject to copyediting. Authors will receive galley proofs of their article before publication and should answer all queries. Any corrections to proofs must be restricted to printers errors; no rewriting can be allowed. Reprints may be purchased using the reprint order form that is sent with the page proofs.
Documents Cited:
1. Declaration of Helsinki. Bull Pan Am Health Organ 1990;24:6069.
2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Ann Intern Med 1997;126:3647.
If you require any technical assistance, please contact:
Shannon Pais Marketing Coordinator Multimed Inc. Tel: 905-875-2456 Toll Free: 1-888-834-1001 Fax: 905-875-2864 Email: current_oncology@multi-med.com
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
The submission has not been previously published nor is it before another journal for consideration; or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor.
The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
All URLs quoted have been checked and are operational.
The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); with figures and tables placed within the text, rather than at the end.
The Journal has guidelines on the length of submissions and asks that authors attempt to comply with these.
Letters: Should be concise and have a maximum word count of 3-400 and no more than 2-4 references.
Manuscripts: Should be a maximum of 3000-3500 words, with typically a limit of 4-6 Tables/Figures and a limit of 25 references where appropriate.
Review manuscripts may have additional references where required and appropriate.
Guest Editorials: Should typically be no longer than 1200-1600 words, with 4-8 references and 1-2 Figures/Tables.
Abstracts should be comprehensive, they may contain subheadings but should not exceed 250 words.
In all cases, authors must be prepared to bear the costs of any colour reproductions where applicable.
By submitting to the journal, the author(s) hereby agree that the submission follows the journals policies on Conflict of Interest, Informed Consent, and Human and Animal Rights which follow and which are sourced in turn from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (";;;Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals";;;) February 2006.
1. Conflict of Interest: Public trust in the peer review process and the credibility of published articles depend in part on how well conflict of interest is handled during writing, peer review, and editorial decision making. Conflict of interest exists when an author (or the author's institution), reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) his or her actions (such relationships are also known as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties). These relationships vary from those with negligible potential to those with great potential to influence judgment, and not all relationships represent true conflict of interest. The potential for conflict of interest can exist whether or not an individual believes that the relationship affects his or her scientific judgment. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and of science itself. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion.
2. Informed Consent: Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should identify Individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance. Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note.
3. Human and Animal Rights: When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should be asked to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.
In keeping with the recently announced hybrid format of the Journal beginning with Issue 2, 2008 it is understood by the submitting authorship that some manuscripts will be included within the hard copy in short form only with simultaneous publication in full within the on-line version of the Journal. These manuscripts will be fully indexed as usual in PubMed, Excerpta Medica and Index Copernicus. They will listed in the Table of Contents of the hard copy. The short form published within the hard copy will be limited to 1 page and will include the URL link to the full on-line version. Reprints will be available for all manuscripts, regardless of format, in the usual way.
Authors are asked to indicate if they would prefer on-line publication (with hard copy short form) which will result in an earlier publication date if accepted by the Journal.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the Multimed Inc.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
*Advertisement for Current Oncology
Copyright © 2008 by Multimed Inc.
Current Oncology. ISSN: 1198-0052
Last Updated: 15/09/08