Author Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

editorial policy | peer review | open access policy manuscript submission | pathway 2 for manuscript submission non-native speakers of English | manuscript preparation | page and color charges | page proofs | reprints types of papers | text files | figures | references | supplementary files · We encourage authors from China to have their papers proofread by an English-speaking colleague prior to submission as it allows for a more efficient review of the paper. Upon acceptance of a manuscript, Chinese authors may submit their paper for copyediting by a bilingual Chinese-American scientist. This service is provided by Cancer Biology & Therapy at no charge to the author. To have your paper copyedited, please email CB&T within five days of the manuscript's acceptance. Make sure to include the manuscript number, title and the full contact information for the corresponding author in the email. The citation of your article will be sent to PubMed within one week of acceptance so please ensure all information is correct. download PDF of the journal house style manual Editorial Policy Articles and Papers Reviews should be no longer than 6,000 words. These will generally be invited, but unsolicited proposals for reviews will be considered. Research papers should be no longer than 6,000 words. Assistance in creating artwork can be provided by Landes Bioscience on a limited basis if necessary. Meeting reports will be invited. They are to be 1,000 - 2,000 words. Other feature articles (including special forums, commentaries, columns on ethics, and technology) should be 1000 - 2000 words in length. For all submissions, please indicate one or two areas of the work's focus, as reflected by the interest of the journal and the expertise of the Associate Editors (Receptor Signaling, Molecular Therapy, Signal Transduction, Cancer Genomics, Animal Models, DNA Replication, Radiobiology, Surgical Oncology, DNA/RNA Therapies, Tumor Hypoxia, Cell Cycle Control, DNA Methylation, Tumor Immunology, Cancer Pathogenesis, Translocations, Tumor Virology, Tumor Metastasis, Hereditary Cancer, Transcription/Repair, Cancer Transcriptomes, Research Philosophy, Apoptosis, Gene Therapy, Clinical Trials, Breast Biology, Cancer Biology, Tumor Imaging, Angiogenesis). Policy of Cancer Biology & Therapy on commercial or pharmaceutic contributors or work funded by pharmaceutical companies Original research manuscripts or other categories of submission are peer-reviewed and institutional affiliation as listed by authors is known to the journal editors and scientific peer reviewers. Authors are invited to contribute reviews based on the interest in their work and particular topic of relevance to the journal. Authors are expected to disclose their institutional affiliations as well as sources of funding for their submitted work. The journal, Editors, and referees make every effort to avoid conflicts of interest. The standard peer review process requires referees to recuse themselves in cases of real or even perceived conflict of interest. Pharmaceutical affiliation is not in and of itself (nor should it be) an obstacle to publication in Cancer Biology & Therapy. In fact, because of the high interest of this journal in translational research and new drug development for cancer, such efforts by pharmaceutical colleagues are welcome. Funding from pharmaceutical companies for research is not in and of itself problematic because it is assumed that authors have integrity and perform research according to ethical practices. The journal and Editors strive to include balanced points of view, alternative models, strategies, drugs, targets, and mechanisms and invite members of the scientific community to take an active role in this process. Publication in Cancer Biology & Therapy does not constitute an endorsement by the journal or the Editors of any product, drug, specific target or institution. Policy of Cancer Biology & Therapy regarding inclusion of structures of novel diagnostic or therapeutic agents, small molecules or biologics in cases of proprietary information Ideally structures of diagnostic or therapeutic agents including novel anti-cancer drugs, imaging probes, or biologics should be included in scientific publications and are generally required. This is very important as a basis for others in the field attempting to replicate published work which cannot be done without such information.  It is recognized that under some extremely rare circumstances this may not be possible.  In such cases, authors are required to explain why their structures are not disclosed and this will be subject to the peer review process.  In such cases, authors are strongly encouraged to include as much information as possible including description of the general class of compound. Authors are also strongly encouraged to include structures within a particular class to give the readers an idea of the type of molecule that has activity. Patents generally contain many structures in addition to the active ones and so this type of information can be included as a starting point as long as the authors please make it clear that the actual compound is not shown but is similar to actual examples shown in the paper and can be found in the patent. Authors need to make it clear that in cases where the specific structure is not shown they need to explicitly state their willingness to provide such reagents upon request by the scientific community in order to repeat and extend the published findings.  Cancer Biology & Therapy would consider this a minimum level of information that is potentially acceptable and would consider the manuscripts under those circumstances. Final decisions are subject to the peer review process. Click here for more information on our Editorial Policies. Peer Review Click here for more information. Open Access Policy Landes Bioscience recognizes that some authors prefer that their research be freely available to all potential readers upon publication, and that certain funding agencies (NIH, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute) request open access of agency-funded research within one year of publication. To address these requests, we provide the following options for our authors and readers: (1) One year after publication. ALL papers will become open access to ALL users throughout the world after having been published online for one year. If the paper is funded by a NIH or Wellcome Trust grant, authors may deposit a PDF of the final manuscript with the NIH for download at PubMed Central once the paper has been made freely availble at the journal's website. (2) Immediately upon publication. Papers can be open access immediately upon publication. Authors may purchase open access of their paper at the proof stage and the paper will be made freely available at our website. Again, if the paper is funded by a NIH or Wellcome Trust grant, authors may deposit a PDF of the final manuscript with the NIH for download at PubMed Central. The fee for open access is $750. If the author's institution subscribes to the journal the fee is discounted to $500. Manuscript Submission Pre-submission inquiries Pre-submission inquiries are encoruaged. These may include either an abstract or a full length manuscript as an email attachment (Microsoft Word). Pre-submission inquiries should be emailed to the Editor, Wafik S. El-Deiry, Wafik S. El-Deiry, M.D., Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Biology and Therapy; University of Pennsylvania; 415 Curie Blvd. CRB 437A; Philadelphia, PA 19104 Tel.: 215.898.9015; Fax: 215.573.9139; Authors may choose to submit manuscripts electronically, through our online submission system (preferred method), or via regular mail. Electronic Submission We now utilize an online submission and tracking system which is designed to provide a better, more efficient service to authors. - Authors can submit manuscripts online from anywhere in the world. - Authors can track their manuscript through the peer review process. - Author files are automatically converted into a PDF (Portable Document Format) file and submissions are acknowledged by email. - Editors and reviewers access the PDF files on the website. Please read the directions below and then click here to submit a manuscript to CB&T: http://cbt.msubmit.net/ All submissions must be accompanied by a completed copyright transfer form. Fax to Cassie Bannister at 512.637.6079. Via Regular Mail Please send the materials requested in the previous section on a CD to: Kara Mosher 1002 West Ave, 2nd Floor Austin TX 78701 tel 512.637.6050 fax 512.637.6079 kara@landesbioscience.com Please email the Editor-in-Chief, Wafik S. El-Deiry, once a manuscript has been submitted. Pathway 2 for Manuscript Submission Authors may also submit a manuscript to CB&T requesting that a specific Associate Editor oversee the review for consideration by the journal. If an author chooses this mechanism, the following conditions apply. 1. The senior author will have previously contacted the Associate Editor and obtained their agreement to oversee the review of the manuscript. 2. The manuscript is in the area of expertise of the Associate Editor. 3. Copies of the manuscript are otherwise submitted to the journal using the required normal procedure with correspondence to the Editor-in-Chief explaining what is being done. This is important for tracking manuscripts under review and so as not to overburden Associate Editors with too many manuscripts. In such situations, a manuscript may be sent to others for review. 4. The final decision regarding manuscript acceptance will be made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Associate Editor following review of the manuscript. The journal reserves the right to obtain additional reviews for any manuscript under consideration. Non-Native Speakers of English Authors who are not native speakers of English and submit manuscripts to international journals often receive negative comments from referees or editors about English-language usage. These problems can contribute to a decision to reject a paper. To help reduce the possibility of such problems, we strongly encourage such authors to take at least one or both of the following steps. 1. Have your manuscript reviewed for clarity by a colleague whose native language is English. 2. Use a service such as one of those listed below. An editor will improve the English to ensure that your meaning is clear and identify problems that require your review. Note that the use of such a service is at the author's own expense and risk and does not guarantee that the article will be accepted. Landes Bioscience accepts no responsibility for the interaction between the author and the service provider or for the quality of the work performed. American Journal Experts Inter-Biotec Inter-Biotec also provides a free online writing course to help biomedical scientists whose first language is not English to write and publish their papers in English-language journals. SPI Professional Editing Services Write Science Right

Manuscript Preparation

Please see section above under Editorial Policy: Articles and Papers.

Text should be prepared in MS Word, double-spaced, with page numbers throughout. Papers should be written as concisely as possible in clear, grammatical English and organized in the following manner:

1. Title page, including titles, author's names, degrees and affilitations,
2. 5-10 key words (for indexing purposes),
3. acknowledgements,
4. a list of abbreviations and acronyms used throughout the text,
5. an abstract, the primary goal of which is to make the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. References should not be cited in the abstract.
6. a running title of no more than 50 characters in length
7. Text (length and organization depends upon type of paper; see below).
8. References
9. Tables (with descriptive titles and legends)
10. Figure legends

Types of Papers

Reviews | Focused Review Series | Meeting Reports | Journal Club | Bedside to Bench Reports Research Philosophy/Profiles & Legacies | Research Papers | Commentaries

Reviews

Although reviews should be recognized as scholarly by specialists in the field being covered, they also should be written with a view to informing readers who are not specialized in that particular field, and should therefore be presented using simple prose. Please avoid excessive jargon and technical detail. Reviews should capture the broad developments and implications of recent work. The opening paragraph should make clear the general thrust of the review and provide a clear sense of why the review is now particularly appropriate. The concluding paragraph should provide the reader with an idea of how the field may develop or future problems to be overcome, but should not summarize the article. To ensure that a Review is likely to be accessible to as many readers as possible, it may be useful to ask a colleague from another discipline to read the review before submitting it. Reviews are limited to approximately 2,000 - 4,000 words and should be well illustrated. If very technical concerns are essential to the Review, these should be presented in a separate box.

Focused Review Series

The Editors of CB&T invite members of the scientific community to consider topics of interest to our readers and to organize small series of focused reviews in particular areas. This will involve proposing a topic of interest, contacting potential authors for two - four or more reviews and providing the titles of the reviews, the names of the authors, and when they would be ready. CBT aims to publish outstanding reviews by accomplished authors. Please also note in writing reviews that we are most interested in content and that there is flexibility in word count, number of references or number of figures. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief if you are interested in organizing a Focused Review Series.

Meeting Reports

Authors are encouraged to contact the Journal with proposals for meeting reports. Please contact the meeting organizers to verify that reports will be permitted. In the case of Gordon Research Conferences, reports are not allowed to be publisehd under any circumstances. In the case of other scientific meetings, please ensure that permission is given by any presenter whose unpublished work will be mentioned, along with a notation in the text (cited with permission from Dr. Nobel Laureate, Dr. Nobel Laureate, M.D., personal communication, or Dr. Nobel Laureate, Jr., manuscript in preparation, submitted, in revision, or in press).

Journal Club

Journal Club articles include descriptions and critiques of major advances published in other leading journals. It is modeled after and driven by journal club presentations held in most institutions around the country and would be a good opportunity for Cancer Biology students of all ages (faculty, post-docs, and graduate students) to share their critiques with a wider audience. This is therefore an open invitation to suggest specific papers to be featured and critiqued. We look forward to your participation in the "Journal Club." We will continue the section "Exegeses and Views" of CBT and reserve it for more theoretical arguments and ideas that are not necessarily published, or views based on a body of work rather than a specific publication.

Bedside-to-Bench Reports

These consist of one or more case reports, followed by a thorough and up-to-date discussion of the molecular biology of the disease. These reports should include an abstract, a brief introduction, and a clinical case report, followed by a discussion of Clinical Features, Pathology, Radiology, Therapy, and Molecular Features. The total report should be kept under 4,000 words, and the Molecular Features should comprise about one-half to two-thirds of the report. The goal of this section is to provide clinicians witha perspecive of the molecular aspects, and the basic scientists with a perspective of the clinical aspects. This represents one format through which CB&T will impart translational knowledge.

Research Philosophy and Profiles & Legacies

For "Profiles and Legacies," The Editors of CB&T invite prominent scientists and clinicians to write about their careers and experiences and publishes their photo on the cover. Each article in the "Profiles and Legacies" section contains the subsections "Biographical Information" detailing briefly the person's career path, the main text section which could carry any subtitle(s) they choose or could simply be "Philosophical Views." There is often a section entitled "Vision of the Future" where they comment and advise on the future direction of cancer research. Each Profile we have published has been very interesting for our readership in part because of the unique experiences and perspectives provided.

The Editors invite groups of authors to pay tribute to outstanding individuals who have had major impact on the field of cancer research. We also invite submissions featuring new centers or major expansions at well-established institutions (new institutes or centers). This is a great way to share the excitement and attract attention to what's happening.

Articles in the Research Philosophy section can be submitted by authors without prior invitation. These articles discuss general areas of scientific philosophy or more specialized areas, such as post-doctoral training, career development of trainees, grantsmanship, scientific style, and decision-making at crossroads in research, just to name a few. We are interested in a variety of additional topics including experiences in discovery and scientific progress, views or advice to scientists of all ages, the impact of genomics, translational research, proteomics, as well as any insights into careers in industry, academia, or careers of physician scientists.

Research Papers

CB&T will consider for Editorial Decision manuscripts that may have been previously submitted to other journals. If you wish to send us such a manuscript, please forward the prior reviews as well as a cover letter indicating how you have modified the results and/or text of the manuscript in response to such reviews or issues raised. CBT considers the arguments made by authors and considers the timely publication of results as a high priority. We understand that most good papers will lead to follow-up studies and future publications that will likely address issues raised and pursue interesting new directions based on the work.

Introduction - An overview of the manuscript.

Patients and Methods / Materials and Methods - Describe selection of patients or experimental animals, including controls. Do not use patients’ names or hospital numbers. Identify methods, apparatus (manufacturer’s name and address), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Provide references and brief descriptions of methods that have been published. When using new methods. Evaluate their advantages and limitations. Identify drugs and chemicals, including generic name, dosage, and route(s) of administration.

Indicate whether the procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Human Experimentation in your country, or are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975.

Results - Present results in logical sequence in tables and illustrations. In the text, explain, emphasize or summarize the most important observations. Units of measurement should be expressed in accordance with Systeme International d’Unites (SI Units).

Discussion - Do not repeat in detail data given in the Results section. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study. Relate observations to other relevant studies. On the basis of your findings (and others’), discuss possible implications/conclusions. When stating a new hypothesis, clearly label it as such.

Tables - Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Type each table on a separate sheet, with self-explanatory labels.

Commentaries

Commentaries (reviews of manuscripts published in CB&T) will be invited by the Editor-in-Chief or the Scientific Managing Editor. The purpose of the commentary is to put a paper appearing in a current issue of CB&T into context for scientists who are not necessarily familiar with the field under discussion. As such, it should have some relevant background information, comments on the paper, areas that need further investigation and future directions. Authors are encouraged to include a figure to explain the significance of the pathway being discussed and its relationship to cancer. In order to provide authors enough space to provide a thoughtful commentary, there is no word limit although most commentaries are 1-2 printed pages (approx 1500 words ). Commentary authors are given 2-3 weeks to complete the review. Upon acceptance of the invitation to write a commentary, authors will receive an email from CB&T with a manuscript number and information about submitting the commentary online. Be sure to include 5-7 key words and a running title but please note that no abstract will be published for the commentary.