Complementary & Alternative Methods (CAM)

Environmental Carcinogens

Emerging Trends in Basic Science

Other Departments

News & Views

Patient Pages

Supplements

CA requires submission of an outline, which includes details on length, subject, authors (if available), and sponsorship information. Any supplement information that is received without the aforementioned items will be returned. This information must be provided for consideration by the Editors to determine appropriateness for CA's audience. All editorial materials, including supplements, are subject to peer review, and there is no guarantee of publication. All supplement costs must be borne by the authors or sponsoring group. Financial disclosures related to support should be provided in the cover letter.

Peer-review Process

Manuscripts that adhere to submission guidelines are initially reviewed by the Editor of CA. Manuscripts qualifying for peer review are sent to at least two expert reviewers. The corresponding author will receive all editorial communications regarding the status of the manuscript, revisions, and reviews. All revisions and the dissemination of the reviewers’ comments and other manuscript information to co-authors are the corresponding author’s responsibility.

Pre-submission Requirements: Unsolicited Manuscripts

CA requires all pre-submissions to contain an article outline and abstract for review by the Editors before any unsolicited manuscript can be submitted for peer review. All pre-submissions that do not contain this information will be returned without review. Please e-mail an abstract, full author list, manuscript length, and information about the author to the Editorial Office for consideration (see Editorial Office contact information below).

Submission Guidelines

Material submitted to CA must be original and not published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Copies of any related in press publications should accompany manuscripts submitted to CA.

Online Submission Procedure

CA uses Rapid Review, a Web-based, peer-review tracking system, for online submission of all manuscripts.

Authors are required to submit the following manuscript information online using Rapid Review:

• corresponding author’s contact information (a valid e-mail address is required)
• manuscript title
• abstract
• cover letter
• suggested reviewers/reviewers not to use
• keywords
• acknowledgments

Internet Explorer is the preferred browser for this system. Go to the Rapid Review website (www.rapidreview.com) for more information.

Online Submission

Submit the entire manuscript (text, figures, tables, references, etc.) online via Rapid Review, allowing the system to generate a review-quality PDF for use by the Editorial Office.

Once a manuscript has been submitted online, an e-mail acknowledgment will be sent. Authors can check the status of a manuscript at any time by logging on to Rapid Review.

Page Proofs (for Accepted Articles only)

Page proofs are received by the corresponding author directly from the publisher (via e-mail) and must be returned within 48 hours of receipt. Detailed instructions on how to access the PDF of page proofs are provided on the Rapid Proof retrieval page. Authors will receive an e-mail that contains a password and link; go to the Web site. One file will be available that will contain the following: the author letter, the reprint order form, the page proof and the list of author queries, and the customer satisfaction survey. After printing the PDF file, e-mail or fax the proof corrections to the contact person provided within 48 hours. It is the corresponding author's responsibility to consult with co-authors regarding the proofs. Substantial author revisions during this stage of production may incur additional costs, which must be borne by the authors. Excessive corrections must be reviewed and authorized by the Editorial Office.

Authorship, Copyright, Financial and Other Disclosures

The journal's definition of what qualifies as authorship is based on the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals,¹ established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

All listed authors must sign the copyright transfer agreement. In doing so, each author takes public responsibility for the article’s content.

No article will be published without a copyright transfer agreement signed by all the listed authors. Failure to submit this form at the time the manuscript is submitted can cause delays in peer review and publication.

Financial and Other Disclosures

Authors are required to disclose all relevant financial support and potential conflicts of interest in their cover letter, within the manuscript, and on the copyright transfer agreement form. If there are no financial disclosures from any authors, this should be stated as well. In addition, authors have an ethical responsibility to ensure all research discussed in their work is credible and data are accurate prior to publication. Authors must also clearly identify, within the manuscript, any discussion of investigational or "off-label" use of drugs or medical devices.

Acknowledgments

All others who contributed to the work should be listed under Acknowledgments. This includes people who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or general support.

All financial support should be clearly acknowledged in the manuscript, as well as any details regarding the role of the funding organization in the creation of the manuscript.

Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author is the point of contact for the Editorial Office and Publisher. He or she is responsible for:

• Collecting signed copyright transfer agreements and CME disclosure forms (if the manuscript is associated with a CME quiz) from all authors and submitting these to the Editorial Office with the manuscript.
• Sharing the reviewers’ comments with the other authors and ensuring the requested revisions are made or clearly disputed before resubmitting the manuscript.
• Page proofs. The publisher will e-mail page proofs to the corresponding author. It is up to the corresponding author to share these proofs with the other authors. The corresponding author is responsible for incorporating all the corrections made by the authors and returning the proofs to the publisher within 48 hours.
• Reviewing the CA cover. The corresponding author of the article featured on the cover of an issue of CA will receive PDF files of cover designs from the Editorial Office. He or she may share these designs with the other authors, but the corresponding author is responsible for ensuring any figure/tables/illustrations taken from the article (or supplied specifically for use on the cover) have been reproduced clearly and accurately, and for verifying the accuracy of their use for the Editorial Office.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grantees

Manuscript Format

Manuscripts should follow the AMA Manual of Style (10th ed.)² for grammar, punctuation, and style, and should meet the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals¹ established by the ICMJE for general authorship guidelines.

Title Page

This should include:

• A brief, specific title
• The corresponding author’s name and contact information
• The total number of text pages (including title page, references, and figure legends), tables, and illustrations
• Acknowledgment of all sources of financial support or financial interest in products or manufacturers of products mentioned in the article (if there are no financial disclosures from any authors, this should be stated as well)
• Acknowledgment of any contributors who do not qualify as authors (see above)

A secondary page detailing all author names, including academic degrees, titles, affiliations, and current addresses must be provided. This information will be published on the first page of the article along with the financial disclosure statement.

Abstract Page

If applicable, the abstract should be brief (200 words maximum) and present an accurate overview of the manuscript. Four to six keywords should be listed at the bottom of the page. Please use Index Medicus subject headings.

Text

The manuscript should be typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Use footnotes only in tables and figures, not to elaborate on the article text. Consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference³ to verify drug names (use generic names only, adding the brand name afterward in parentheses if relevant). Abbreviations and/or acronyms should be spelled out in full and abbreviated in parentheses on first use in the text.

References

References should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they are cited in the text. A reference cited only in a table or figure is numbered within the sequence established by the first mention of that table or figure in the text.

References must be current. Use of references more than 10 years old is discouraged unless they are classic or unique works.

Authors must verify all references. The reference list should follow the text of the manuscript. Follow the AMA Manual of Style (10th ed.)² for reference formatting and punctuation.

In the reference list, abbreviate names of journals according to MEDLINE/Index Medicus. For five or more authors, list the first three names followed by "et al." Please note the following examples for format and punctuation:

Journal
1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, et al. Cancer Statistics, 2007. CA Cancer J Clin 2007;57:43-66.

Book
2. Eifel PJ, Levenback C. American Cancer Society Atlas of Clinical Oncology: Cancer of the Female Lower Genital Tract. Hamilton, Ontario: BC Decker, Inc.; 2001.

Chapter in a book
3. Park BH, Vogelstein B. Tumor-Suppressor Genes, in Kufe DW, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, et al. (eds). Cancer Medicine. 6th ed. Hamilton, Ontario: BC Decker, Inc.; 2003:87-106.

Web site
4. Health on the Net Foundation. Health on the Net Foundation code of conduct (HONcode) for medical and health Web sites. Available at: http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html. Accessed August 26, 2003.

Tables

Number the tables consecutively in the order in which they are cited in the text. Include a brief descriptive title for each table. The tables should immediately follow the references. Each table should appear on a separate page, either at the end of the manuscript or in a separate file. Do not embed tables in the manuscript text.

Figures and Illustrations

Number figures consecutively according to the order in which they are cited in the text. The figures should immediately follow the tables in the manuscript. Do not embed figures in the manuscript text. Provide a complete list of figure legends on a separate page. Submit two hard copy sets of figures with the orientations (top/bottom) and figure numbers clearly marked.

Figures (line art): Electronic Formatting

• Each figure should be saved in a separate file, whether uploaded to Rapid Review or submitted on disk.
• Text/labeling within figures should be in 9 pt Arial font, to ensure readability in print.
• All figures submitted electronically must be saved as TIFF or EPS files.
• Figures must be saved in the sizes at which they will be printed, and the following resolutions are required to ensure print quality: 1200 dpi for line art.

The submission of figures that do not conform to journal requirements will cause a delay in publication.

CA reserves the right to resize and/or crop photographs to fit the journal’s format where appropriate.

Figures (half tones):

Figures must be saved in the sizes at which they will be printed, and the following resolutions are required to ensure print quality: 300 dpi for halftones/color; 600 dpi for combination halftones/color.

Cover Art

All authors are invited to submit potential cover art (photographs and/or illustrations preferred). See the Figures and Illustrations guidelines above for specifications. CA does not guarantee that cover art submitted will be utilized, however, and any original photographs, line drawings, etc. will not be returned unless the authors submit a written request along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope at the time of submission.

If the figure/table/illustration submitted for use on the cover does not appear in the article, a separate copyright transfer form will be required for the cover art.

Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from copyright owners to reproduce or adapt any previously published material (including the author’s own work) that appears in the article being submitted to CA. Authors must obtain written permission from:

1. the holder of any copyrighted material (text, illustrations, tables) used in the manuscript
2. the administrator of any institution (university, hospital, clinic) mentioned in the manuscript
3. actual persons mentioned in the manuscript

Where permission has been granted, the author should follow any special wording stipulated by the grantor in acknowledging the source of the material. Formal letters granting permission must be included in the manuscript submission package. If the permissions are not received, the manuscript will not be published.

Permission statements must also be obtained from at least one author when citing unpublished data, in press articles, and/or personal communication. In photographs, patients' identities should be masked whenever possible. However, if patients are identifiable, written permission to use the photograph must be obtained from the patient or guardian and submitted with the manuscript. Clearly state in the manuscript that informed consent has been obtained.

Note: It may take six to eight weeks to receive permission from the copyright holder. Please request all permissions as early as possible.

Embargo Policy

Accepted articles are embargoed from reporting by all media until 12:01 AM EST on the date of online publication. Authors who discuss their work with the media prior to publication must ensure that the media representatives know the embargo policy and the embargo date. Authors arranging their own publicity on their articles are advised to notify the Editorial Office in advance.

Information About Journal-based Continuing Medical Education

Accreditation

The American Cancer Society, Inc., is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education (CME) for physicians. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians has been approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) as having educational content acceptable for Prescribed credit hours.

CME Quiz & Evaluation

The American Cancer Society designates certain articles in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians as appropriate for a continuing medical education activity based on needs assessment data. An issue of CA may include one to four continuing medical education activities (courses). Course quiz questions are usually written by the American Cancer Society and then sent to the corresponding author for review and approval. At this time the author(s) can make any changes to the quiz questions they feel are appropriate. However, if an author wishes to draft his or her own CME quiz questions, he or she is free to do so once the article has been accepted for publication and has been designated as a CME course article.

Disclosures

The American Cancer Society requires CME course authors to sign a declaration disclosing any significant relationships related directly or indirectly to their course content that might be reasonably perceived as a potential conflict of interest. This includes financial interests, arrangements, or affiliations with companies or other organizations whose products or services are discussed in the activity. Authors of CME activities in CA must clearly identify within the article text any discussion of investigational or “off-label” use of drugs or medical devices.

References

2. American Medical Association. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.

3. Physicians’ Desk Reference. 61st ed. Montvale, NJ: Thomson PDR; 2007.

Contact Us

Editorial Office
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
American Cancer Society
250 Williams Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30303-1002
Phone: 404-329-7549
Fax: 404-551-5606
E-mail: ca.edoff{at}cancer.org