Instructions to Authors
The Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology publishes manuscripts that describe new findings in any area related to clinical oncology. Original articles are considered most important and will be processed for rapid review by the members of Editorial Board. Clinical trial notes, Cancer genetics reports, Epidemiology notes and Technical notes are also published. Case reports implying new findings that have significant clinical impact are carefully processed for possible publication. Review articles are published in principle at the Editor’s request. All the submission and reviewing are conducted electronically so that rapid review is assured. Information for authors are given below.
The journal has been online only since the 2018 January issue (Vol. 48 Iss. 1). There are no longer any supplementary charges for colour printing and authors no longer have the option to purchase offprints of papers published in the journal. All authors receive a free access link to their paper upon publication.
Manuscript Categories
- Original article
- Guideline
- Case reports
- Public Health Report (New from 2010)
- Clinical trial notes
- Cancer genetics reports
- Epidemiology notes
- Technical notes
- Short communications
- Letters to the Editor
- Image of the Month
Manuscript Submission Requirements
- Cover letter
Peer-review process: Preferred and non-preferred reviewers
- Text
- Title page
- Abstract, mini-abstract and key words
- References
- Tables
- Coloured photographs
- Supplementary Material
- Survival curves
- Abbreviations and symbols
- Statistics
Author's Responsibility and Conflict of Interest Form
- Authors’ responsibility
- Funding
- Conflict of interest
Additional Information
- Open Access
- Third-Party Content in Open Access papers
- Peer review
- Contact
Manuscript Categories
Original article
Originality and clinical impact are essential for acceptance of Original Articles. Descriptions of the following points are critically evaluated.
In reports of prospective clinical trials:
The study rationale, trial design, and number of cases
Approval of local ethical committees and informed consent by patients
Precise data presentation and justifiable conclusions
For reports of randomized controlled trials, authors should refer to the CONSORT statement.
In reports of retrospective clinical observations:
Selection criteria of cases
Efforts to eliminate possible biases in retrospective analysis
Justifiable conclusions
In reports of basic research:
Clinical impact of the study
For statistical evaluation of a study, authors are requested to read “A guideline for reporting results of statistical analysis in Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology” (Jpn J Clin Oncol 1997; 27 (3) 121-127).
Guideline
A Guideline for Reporting Results of Statistical Analysis in Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
English Version of the Guideline (PDF)
Japanese Version of the Guideline (PDF)
Case reports
JJCO publishes case reports that present new findings with significant clinical impact to the oncologist, or findings that may alter the disease concept of a tumor. The former includes unreported adverse events of anti-cancer treatments; remarkable effects of a new therapy; novel suggestions or pitfalls in diagnosing tumors. The latter includes unreported subtypes, syndromes, or familial accumulation of a tumor; multiple primary tumors in which molecular biological findings provide etiological suggestions; untreated disappearance or long-time stable condition of a tumor with distinct clinical proof.
The journal adheres to strict guidelines to maintain its high standard of publication quality which regrettably results in the rejection of many articles. For example, “Letter-style” case reports are not acceptable, and reports of a case in which the clinical course of the patient is still changing after the initial treatments will not be considered for publication.
Reports that describe rare tumors are likely to be immediately rejected unless valuable information or data, such as new approaches for treatments are presented. Authors are requested to clarify in their Discussion section what readers could learn from the case. A pathologist should be included as an author when the histological findings play a key role in the report. Information that can be linked to the patients’ identification must be carefully masked.
When submitted case reports do not meet our publishing criteria, JJCO may suggest submission to other case report specific journals, such as Oxford Medical Case Reports. Oxford Medical Case Reports (OMCR) is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing original and educationally valuable case reports that expand the field of medicine. The journal covers all medical specialties comprising a comprehensive resource for physicians in all fields and at all stages of training.
Public Health Report (New from 2010)
JJCO encourages authors to use the journal as a forum to report translational research in public health area to promote cancer prevention, early detection and relevant cancer control topics. This category includes articles such as evidence report on causality or efficacy based on systematic literature review and guideline for cancer prevention and screening. These comprehensive summary documents assist the government or health care professionals in their role of evidence-based policy making as well as providing high-quality information to the public. It should carry a structured or non-structured abstract of no more than 250 words.
Recent Example:
“Alcohol Drinking and Total Cancer Risk: An Evaluation Based on a Systematic Review of Epidemiologic Evidence among the Japanese Population” Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. 2007 37: 692-700
Manami Inoue, Kenji Wakai, Chisato Nagata, Tetsuya Mizoue, Keitaro Tanaka, Ichiro Tsuji, and Shoichiro Tsugane for the Research Group for the Development and Evaluation of Cancer Prevention Strategies in Japan.
“The Japanese Guideline for Prostate Cancer Screening” Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. 2009 39: 339-351
Chisato Hamashima, Tomio Nakayama, Motoyasu Sagawa, Hiroshi Saito, and Tomotaka Sobue
Clinical trial notes
The JJCO publishes protocol digests of prospective clinical trials that have been approved and commenced by established clinical oncology groups. A clinical trial note will include concise description of trial backgrounds and rationale, endpoints, eligibility criteria, treatment methods, scheduled analyses and statistical consideration. Trial resources and approval by institutional review board should also be shown. Importance and possible impact of the study can be briefly discussed. Any preliminary results of the trial must not be included. A nonstructured abstract of fewer than 150 words and only essential references should be provided. A scanned copy of the original protocol (in English or Japanese) should be also submitted online along with the manuscript.
Cancer genetics reports
Previously undescribed pathogenic germline mutation in a hereditary cancer syndrome or related diseases will be reported in this section as a pedigree case report. Similarly high penetrance polymorphisms or germline mutations associated with a significant adverse drug reactions will be also accepted.
A case report with known germline mutation or polymorphism may also be considered if the report can be expected to contribute substantially to the advancement and/or accumulation of the current knowledge in the field of clinical cancer genetics.
The nucleotide sequence of the mutation or polymorphism must be defined on the genomic DNA. The method of the mutation/polymorphism detection should be described explicitly, such as with PCR conditions and primer sequences. Whenever appropriate, a pedigree (family tree) must be presented. The pedigree should be drawn according to the “Recommendations for Standardized Human Pedigree Nomenclature”, Am J Hum Genet 1995;56:745-52. Some basic keys of the nomenclature are summarized in “Excerpt from the Pedigree Nomenclature”.
Strict care should be taken to prevent the identification of the patients and any other relevant family members. It is the responsibility of authors to obtain appropriate informed consent for publication.
No running head or mini-abstract is necessary. An abstract of fewer than 150 words should be provided as well as a genetic summary describing disorder, ethnicity, gene and its GenBank, EMBL or DDBJ accession number and chromosomal assignment, type of DNA variant, mutation, allelic frequency, method of mutation detection, etc.
Epidemiology notes
New data in cancer epidemiology derived from periodic or ad hoc surveillance may be published in this section. Tabulated or illustrated data are shown with brief descriptions of backgrounds and new findings.
Technical notes
Originally-devised techniques for cancer diagnosis or treatment are published as a Technical note. The backgrounds are briefly described in Introduction and the technique is intelligibly explained using clear illustrations. The advantage and possible benefit to use the new technique should be highlighted.
Short communications
A small-scale study that includes important new information may be published as a short communication. It usually carries an abstract of fewer than 150 words, text of fewer than 1800 words, up to two tables or figures, and essential references.
Letters to the Editor
Letters commenting on articles published previously in the Journal or expressing views on topics relevant to clinical oncology will be published. An appropriate title should be provided.
Image of the Month
“Image of the Month” introduces cases with a visual impact that attracts the attention of readers, is eye-catching, and impresses.
We recommend to introduce cases with a pathological diagnosis after pathological examination. Impressive, unusual or thought-provoking pictures are also welcome despite a case being rare clinically (i.e. not a Case Report.)
Please place the text of the article on one A4 page with 12-point, double-spaced text. The text and figures must fit on one published page. The title should contain no more than 15 words, and the text of the article should contain no more than 300 words. Abstract/Mini-Abstract is not required for this manuscript category. Please clearly state the progress and the treatment policy so that non-professional readers may also understand. Neither a prognosis nor a discussion is necessarily required. A manuscript will be reviewed by the News Editors and may be edited if necessary.
There should be between two and four figures. The format of the figure(s) must be high-resolution (300 dpi or more) JPEG or TIFF. If there are multiple photographs they should each be a minimum of 5 × 5 cm in size. If there is only one photograph it should be around 10 cm wide. Please do not import the image files to PowerPoint or Word but send the original files. Please trim the picture and/or insert arrows as necessary, in order to correspond to the text and take out any patient identity (e.g. such as can be found on X rays). We may further crop the photographs if necessary. Although figure legends are not necessary, please number the figures and the files and make sure the corresponding numbers are used in the text citations.
There should be a maximum of 4 authors. Please add their full names and affiliations at the end of the manuscript text.
References may not be used due to space limitation. Permission to reproduce copyright material, for print and online publication in perpetuity, must be cleared. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights-holder must be made available to the Editorial Board. It is also the author's responsibility to include acknowledgements as stipulated by the particular institutions. Oxford University Press can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see the Guidelines for Authors section.
The following papers are published in principle at the Editor’s request
Review articles
Mini-reviews
Editorials
Meeting reports
Special lecture notes
Manuscript Submission Requirements
Language Editing
If English is not your first language, you may wish to have your manuscript edited for language before submitting it. This is not a mandatory step, but may help to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. There are many specialist language editing services available and you can find these easily by searching online. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services. Please note that edited manuscripts will still need to undergo peer-review by the journal.
Submission
All manuscripts should be submitted online via ScholarOne Manuscripts . Before submission, prepare the manuscript completely with a word processor in standard double-space style according to the following instructions. Save computer-generated or scanned figures and tables as well as the text in a computer that has Internet access. Then, access the ScholarOne Manuscripts Web site, create a user account (or use your existing author account), and click the “Author Center” button. Please Note: As part of our Author’s responsibility policy (see section below for more detail) submission must be made by one of the persons listed as an author in the manuscript. Upload the manuscript by following the instructions on the screen. The uploaded files are automatically converted to PDF and HTML files and will be immediately transferred to the Journal’s editorial office. Note that all correspondence thereafter is carried out by e-mail. For further technical details of online submission, read instructions the Online Submission page.
Authors now have the option to submit a graphical abstract or video abstract as part of the article, in addition to the text abstract. The graphical/video abstract should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article, and will be published as part of the article online and in the PDF. The graphical/video abstract should be submitted as a separate file, selecting the appropriate file-type designation in the journal’s online submission system. The file should be clearly named, e.g. graphical_abstract.tiff, video_abstract.mp4. For guidance on appropriate file format and resolution for graphics and videos go to Preparing and Submitting your Manuscript page. Please ensure graphical abstracts are in landscape format. Note that graphical abstracts are optional and can be submitted at initial submission stage, or when resubmitting the paper after revision.
Note: For revised manuscript (manuscript that has previously been submitted and has received decision “Minor revision”/”Major revision”), following two are also required: (1) point-by-point author response to the reviewers’ comment and (2) changes and modifications specified by changing font colour, or with underlines.
Submitted manuscript will not be sent for review without fulfilling above requirements.
Cover letter
Cover letter should be attached to the submitted manuscript either with the text file, or at the cover letter field in the submission process. It should include a complete contact information for the corresponding author (postal/mail address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers) and whether the authors have published or submitted any related papers from the same study.
Please note that any manuscript without a cover letter will not be sent to peer review.
Peer-review process: Preferred and non-preferred reviewers
JJCO employs a single-blind review process, so authors do not know the identity of the reviewers. Editors select external reviewers using a database of experts, many of whom are Editorial Board members. During the submission process, the Editors request that authors suggest the names and contact details of at least one preferred reviewer for their manuscript, and authors are strongly encouraged to suggest more than one preferred reviewer. The reviewers provide comments for the Editors and the authors, as well as a recommendation on the decision. Upon receiving the comments, the Editor assigned to the manuscript will ultimately make the decision. The Editor-in-Chief approves all accept and reject decisions.
Text
Manuscript format and style should be in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”. Original Articles are normally prepared with the headings Introduction, Patients (or Materials) and Methods, Results, Discussion, and References, Tables and figures, in this order.
For online submission, prepare the main document including the title page and save it as a Microsoft Word document (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf ), or PostScript (.ps) file. Set the page layout of A4 or letter-size paper with margins of at least 25 mm. Use a large, clear font (e.g. 12-point or larger Times New Roman or Arial) and double-spacing throughout. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page.
Title page
The title page should carry a) the title of the article; b) authors’ names with institutional affiliations; c) corresponding author’s name with phone and fax numbers, street address and E-mail address; d) a running head of no more than 45 characters including spaces.
Abstract, mini-abstract and key words
The second page should carry an abstract of no more than 250 words (see instructions for specific categories above also). Since abstracts often appear apart from the text of a paper (e.g., in PubMed or Medline), they should not cite references. Use of abbreviations should be kept to a minimum (no more than five in the abstract) and is limited to widely known abbreviations such as CI (confidence interval) or DNA. Do not use nonstandard abbreviations and acronyms. The Editorial Office or the Associate Editor may request you to spell out the abbreviations used at their discretion.
The abstract of an original article should be structured into four paragraphs with headings of Background (or Objective where relevant), Methods, Results and Conclusions. The abstracts for all other manuscript types should be non-structured. An abstract is not required for Letter.
A mini-abstract of fewer than 30 words, specifying the significant conclusion of the study, should also be provided. The mini-abstract will appear in the table of contents of the Journal.
Provide three to five key words. Use terms from the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus .
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