Categories of Articles

Research Articles

Original studies offering broad impact across the fields of basic, preclinical, clinical, prevention, and epidemiologic cancer research. The reports should be well-documented, novel, and significant to the field as a whole.

• 250-word abstract
• 5,000 words of text
• 7 tables and/or figures (Please keep the number of panels per figure to an absolute minimum)
• 50 references

Priority Reports

Short, definitive reports of findings of high impact, significance, and timeliness. These reports receive an accelerated review. Papers submitted as Priority Reports should include a section for Materials and Methods as well as Results and Discussion (Results and Discussion may be combined but Materials and Methods may not be combined with any other section).

• 250-word abstract
• 2,500 words of text
• 4 tables and/or figures — Please note that each figure or table is limited to a maximum of 4 panels
• 20 references

Reviews

Articles that review a timely subject important to cancer researchers. Reviews must be written as concisely as possible. Authors of unsolicited Review Articles must first submit an outline of the proposed article for consideration. The outline should be sent to the attention of Dr. Danny R. Welch, Deputy Editor for Reviews (E-mail: cancerres@aacr.org). All Review Articles, whether invited or not, will be subject to peer review. Reviews not within the length restrictions below will be considered only at the discretion of the Deputy Editor for Reviews.

• 200-word abstract
• 2,000 words of text
• 1 original figure with a maximum of 4 panels
• 30 references

Letters to the Editor

In the spirit of open scientific dialogue, the Editors invite the submission of correspondence that presents considered opinions in response to articles published in the journal. Letters to the Editor will be peer reviewed and, if found to meet the requisite publication criteria (scholarly commentary on a subject of importance and interest to the broad readership), the Letter may be sent to the author(s) of the originally published article and possibly to other interested parties for a response to be published in the same issue of the journal as the Letter. Please note that the journal will not consider Letters to the Editor regarding Cancer Research that were published more than 3 months prior. Correspondence concerning articles that have not been published in Cancer Research will not be considered.

• 400 words of text
• 5 references, the first of which must be the citation for the original article under discussion
• Letters may contain figures or tables only if they show data that refute the conclusions of the originating article. Figures or tables showing unpublished data in support of the conclusions of the originating article will not be considered
• Include a title: "Running title of the original article — Letter"

Meeting Reports

Meeting Reports published in Cancer Research should summarize the major themes of the meeting and synthesize key themes across multiple speakers (if this is fitting) with consensus around key ideas underscored. Reports should also contain a perspective that provides an outlook of the controversial or challenging issues that remain to be studied and investigated. It is encouraged that this perspective provides opinions of directions for the future. The authors are also encouraged to provide a vision for what the field might look like in the next 5-10 years. Meeting Reports must be submitted within 2 months of the meeting date in order to maintain their timeliness.

• 4,000 words of text (the Report could be partitioned and subtitled with key themes).
• A Summary at the beginning of the Report should provide an executive summary of key themes, consensus, and controversies for those themes (included in the 4,000 word limit). The Editors feel this summary will highlight important concepts that could be appreciated by a broad cancer research audience.
• Figures and/or tables are not permitted without prior approval from the Editors.
• References, if necessary, must be kept to a minimum.

Resource Reports

Concise descriptions of a new technology, research database, software tool, or internet-based service that represents a useful resource for cancer researchers. A practical application of the resource must be clearly described, but description of a new biological or clinical insight is not required. For manuscripts describing a software tool or internet-based service, a strong emphasis is placed on the usability of the resource, and reviewers will be asked to assess this through hands-on testing, including any required installation procedure. The resource must be freely available for non-commercial use, and at least a minimum level of support provided for no less than two years.

• 150-word abstract
• 1,500 words of text
• 2 tables and/or figures — Please note that each figure or table is limited to a maximum of 4 panels
• 20 references
• Video: Manuscripts describing a software tool or internet-based service must be accompanied by a 2-10 minute video—preferably a narrated screencast—demonstrating the operation of the resource for a typical application. The video should be mentioned in the text and cited as “See Video 1”, “See Video 2”, etc. Please be sure to submit your video as supplementary material along with your manuscript. Please contact our office if you have any questions regarding the video.