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Message from the Editor-in-Chief

I have now reached the close of my first year of serving you as Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Research, and I want to thank all of our readers and contributors for your patience during this period of transition. During the last several months, I have conducted an in-depth evaluation of the journal and its operations, and I would like to share with you our exciting plans to further strengthen the journal’s status among the world’s most important biomedical science journals and to enhance its ability to serve the readership over the course of the next year.

Peer Review Process

Perhaps the most critical components of any journal’s success are the scientific expertise and dedication of the members of its Editorial Board. Clearly our success as the most prestigious cancer journal, ranking 14^th in citation among the top 4000 journals in any field of science, is dependent upon the excellence of reviews of submitted manuscripts as well as the efficiency and speed with which the review process is conducted. In this regard, I wish to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Associate Editors of Cancer Research and their reviewers for their hard work and sustained efforts on behalf of the journal, especially during this time of transition.

It is clear, however, that because of the dramatic increase in submissions and other factors, recently our review process has not been efficient or speedy. Authors are waiting far too long for editorial decisions and reviewers’ comments. Please be assured that we recognize this problem and that we are taking immediate steps to address it. We have already launched several corrective actions to expedite the review of pending manuscripts and are now working to resolve the problem for the long term as detailed below:

First, the implementation of new procedures for electronic submission and peer review is long overdue. These new initiatives will surely have an immediate impact on the speed of review. Second, as the terms of some of our excellent, long-term Associate Editors come to an end, we will be challenged to replace them with new members of the Editorial Board who share their experience and commitment to the journal. We are in the process of expanding both the number and the breadth of expertise of the Board members so that we will be in a better position to accommodate the increasing number of submissions without unduly overburdening individual Associate Editors. Third, we will be modifying the review process, with an eye toward speed and efficiency, by empowering Associate Editors to perform quick reviews of manuscripts that may not warrant a comprehensive review. Lastly, we will be moving toward a new system of subsection editors to facilitate the assignment of manuscripts to reviewers. Such a decentralized peer review system will undoubtedly address the needs of our authors by providing speed, consistency, and a higher level of reviewer expertise and specificity.

Cancer Research is in the process of modernizing its in-house editorial procedures to maximize the benefits to authors. The Editorial Office is replacing its current manuscript management system with a new, up-to-date system. Once it is fully operational, this new Windows-based system will streamline the review process; the features include:

• Electronic peer review, along with a more efficient tracking of reviews • An improved database to facilitate the assignment of manuscripts to reviewers• Electronic submission of manuscripts

These features are in the process of being tested and will be implemented in the near future. When they become available to our authors and reviewers, we will make appropriate announcements.

Online Publication

We are strongly committed to maintaining and further improving the impact of Cancer Research on the cancer field. The rapid pace and sheer volume of scientific discovery have necessitated that all scientific journals meet the highest standards of quality and utility. To this end, we are launching Cancer Research Online. Beginning in January 2001, the full text of Cancer Research will be published online through a contract with HighWire Press. At the time of launch of the 2001 volume of Cancer Research Online, all current and future issues of the journal, as well as all of the issues published in the 1999 and 2000 volumes, will be available in full-text, searchable digital form. In addition, the abstracts of all articles published in Cancer Research since 1973 will be available in searchable form through the online journal site, thus providing an archive of important results published in the past.

This online presence will make Cancer Research an even more dynamic forum for cutting-edge findings in the cancer field, and it will greatly enhance international distribution. Its highly desirable features will transform the reader’s experience; these include:

• Hyperlinks to the Medline abstracts of cited articles • Free full-text access to cited articles in journals published electronically with HighWire Press • Hyperlinks to GenBank • Related article retrieval • E-mail alerts

Over time, new features will be added as they become technologically available.

The Cancer Research Online site will be open to all interested parties free of charge from mid-January 2001 through February 28, 2001. Beginning March 1, 2001, access to the site will be restricted to subscribers. I strongly urge all non-subscribers to take advantage of this open-access trial period to visit Cancer Research Online and enjoy these state-of-the-art advancements in information dissemination. We expect that, like its print counterpart, our online journal will become a vital resource for all investigators working in cancer research.

I feel confident that the imminent changes in the peer review process, as well as bringing Cancer Research to our readers online, will be welcome innovations and will dramatically enhance the journal experience for our contributors, reviewers, and readers. As we work to transform Cancer Research in the coming months, we welcome your feedback.

I want to thank you for your commitment and dedication to Cancer Research. With your support, contributions, and ongoing interest, Cancer Research will remain the premier, most highly cited cancer journal in the world.

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