(4) Meeting Reports. Brief reports on symposia and conferences in molecular cancer therapeutics should be submitted within 2 months of the meeting date in order to maintain their timeliness. Reports should consist of no more than 2,500 words and include a statement of the purpose(s) of the meeting, an integrated summary of the findings presented, and recommendations for future research. The names and affiliations of key speakers should be given in an Appendix. A meeting report should be a thoughtful, critical commentary that shows an appreciation of the connections among the various presentations and reveals the consensus, if any, that emerged from the meeting. Only those Meeting Reports that deal with topics of interest to the readership and that contain novel information and insights from the meeting are accepted for publication. Before submitting Meeting Reports for consideration, potential authors should send a letter to the Editor-in-Chief inquiring whether the topic meets the criteria for acceptance. Letters of inquiry should be sent to the Publications Office (Fax: (215) 599-5646; E-mail: mct@aacr.org).
(5) Commentaries. Brief papers invited by the Editors commenting on articles published in the journals.
2. EDITORIAL POLICIES
Submission of a manuscript to Molecular Cancer Therapeutics implies that the author(s) of the paper understand and fully accept the policies of the Journal as detailed in these "Information for Authors."
No Prior or Subsequent Publication. When a manuscript is submitted for consideration, the authors should confirm in writing that neither the submitted paper nor any similar paper, in whole or in part, other than an abstract or preliminary communication, has been or will be submitted to or published in any other scientific journal. The corresponding author is responsible for attesting to this via the online submission form.
Embargo Policy. AACR's Communications Department periodically sends out press releases regarding upcoming articles of interest. Upon request from a reporter, AACR makes the full text of these articles available in advance of publication with the understanding that the embargo policy will be upheld. Embargo dates and times are stated on press releases sent by AACR.
If an author's institution is planning on promoting an accepted paper in one the AACR journals, please contact Jeremy Moore, Senior Manager for Science Communications, to determine embargo dates (Phone: (267) 646-0557; Fax: (215) 440-9410; E-mail: jeremy.moore@aacr.org). As AACR journals now publish the final, author-corrected articles online every Tuesday and on the date when the print issue mails, it is important to contact the Communications Department to coordinate publicity efforts. The online article is considered the article of record, while the print issue follows as an archive.
Advanced release of material is intended for the reporter only, but may be shared with third parties such as co-workers at your organization or experts in the field for the purposes of obtaining expert opinion and commentary. The reporter is responsible for communicating and obtaining an understanding from the third party that the embargo will be honored and the advance material will not be further distributed without permission from AACR's Communications Department.
Reporters should credit the appropriate AACR journal as the source of the information in any reports. Reproducing content from the advance material for inclusion in reports requires permission from AACR.
Authorship. Who should be listed as an author is determined by the authors or by policies at their institutions, or both. As a general guideline, persons listed as authors should have contributed substantially to: 1) the conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it for important content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors have agreed to be authors and have agreed to the manuscript's content and its submission to the journal. If any changes are proposed to authorship after the manuscript is submitted, including the order of author listing, the corresponding author must provide the AACR Publications Department with signed documentation from all authors on the paper, including those being added or removed, that the authors agree to the changes. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics accepts no responsibility for deciding matters of authorship.
Clinical Trial Registry
In accordance with the guidelines published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the changes to the policy published in an ICMJE Editorial in June 2007, AACR journals require, as a condition of consideration for publication, that all clinical trials be registered in one of five ICMJE-approved public trial registries (www.ClinicalTrials.gov, www.actr.org.au, www.ISRCTN.org, www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm, or www.trialregister.nl). Trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrollment. In addition to accepting registration in any of the above five registries, and following the recommendation of ICMJE, AACR journals accept registration of clinical trials in any of the primary registers that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP).
Registration in a partner register only is insufficient. AACR journals have begun to implement the WHO definition of clinical trials for all trials that began enrollment on or after January 1, 2009. This definition states that a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes." For more information, see ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.
Reporting on Cell Line Use in AACR Journals
- From where and when the cells were obtained
- Whether the cell lines have been tested and authenticated
- The method by which the cells were tested
- How and when the cells were last tested
If cells were obtained directly from a cell bank that performs cell line characterizations and passaged in the user's laboratory for fewer than 6 months after receipt or resuscitation, re-authentication is not required. In these cases, please include the method of characterization used by the cell bank.
Resources for Authors
- Guidelines
- UKCCCR Guidelines for the Use of Cell Lines in Cancer Research, British J of Cancer (2000) 82(9); 1495–1509.
- Cell Line Verification Test Recommendations, ATCC Technical Bulletin No. 8 (2008).
- Cell Line Authentication Methods
- Cabrera CM et al., Identity Test: Determination of Cell Line Cross-Contamination, Cytotechnology (2006) 51:45–50.
- Masters JR et al., Short Tandem Repeat Profiling Provides an International Reference Standard for Cell Lines, PNAS (2001) 98(14):8012–17.
- Service Providers (not endorsed by the AACR)
- Orchid Cellmark
- Johns Hopkins Genetic Resources Core Facility
- European Collection of Cell Cultures
Image Acquisition and Analysis
It is the authors' responsibility to exercise discretion during data acquisition, where misrepresentation must be avoided. Acquisition of images for comparative purposes must be standardized. Specimen areas should be selected which objectively represent the critical features being presented. Images should be captured in a non-compressing format such as .tif, or .bmp. Authors should retain their unprocessed images and metadata files, as editors may request them to aid in manuscript evaluation. If unprocessed data is unavailable, manuscript evaluation may be delayed until the issue is resolved. Files which have been adjusted in any way should be saved separately from the originals, also in a non-compressed format. Compressing formats, such as .jpg, should only be used for presentation of final figures, where requested, to keep files sizes small for electronic transmission.
8 bit monochrome, or 24 bit RGB acquisition is acceptable for visual documentation, but capture at higher bit depths is generally required for fine analysis of intensity data. Only non-adjusted original files should be used for analysis. If data is presented which includes mathematical representations of pixel intensities and locations, the original unprocessed files must be provided for review. A description of the analysis preparation and techniques should be included in the supplementary data.
Image Manipulation
The American Association for Cancer Research allows that minimal image adjustment is acceptable for publication in its journals; however, the final image must remain representative of the original data. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable only if they are applied to the whole image and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original, including backgrounds. Non-linear manipulation, such as "gamma" should only be used to adjust the overall presentation of the image, to make sure details are visible in the printed form. Alteration to specific features within the image is generally not acceptable. Sub-forms of an image may not be enhanced, obscured, moved or removed in relation to the larger image.
Non-linear algorithms to enhance overall presentation such as background subtraction, shading correction, sharpening, despeckling and flattening may be acceptable, but disclosure of adjustment must be included in the legend and the specific techniques must be described in the supplemental data. Descriptions must include the original, unprocessed files for comparison.
Image Composites
The grouping of images from different originals must be made explicit, both by the arrangement of the figure (i.e., adding dividing lines) and in the text of the figure legend. This also applies to multiple fields taken from the same image (such as individual lanes combined from a single electrophoresis gel), and separate images acquired with different conditions. If dividing lines are not included, they will be added by our production department, and may result in publication delays.
Figures presenting merged color images from fluorescence originals must include the original single channel images used to make the merged file. Original images captured as color files are acceptable, but grayscale images are preferred, laid out in sequence as part of the figure.
Multiple images may be combined into a single photomontage when the area of interest cannot be captured in a single image. In such a case, all images which make up the montage must be captured using a standardized method. Each smaller image must overlap its neighboring image by ¼ of the shared field in each direction. The outer boundary of the combined image must be clearly delineated with a line. Any post-processing must be done to the total, combined montage. All original images must also be submitted as supplementary data.
Electrophoretic gels and blots
Include positive and negative controls, as well as molecular size markers, on each gel and blot. Provide a citation for previously characterized antibodies. For antibodies less well characterized in the system under study, we require a detailed characterization that demonstrates not only the specificity of the antibody, but also the range of reactivity of the reagent in the assay, which will be published as supplementary data. Clearly separate vertically sliced gels that juxtapose lanes that were not contiguous in the experiment or include a line delineating the boundary between the gels.
The display of cropped gels and blots in the main paper is encouraged if it improves the clarity and conciseness of the presentation. In such cases, the cropping must be mentioned in the figure legend and the supplementary information should include full-length gels and blots wherever possible. These uncropped images should be labeled as in the main text and placed in a single supplementary figure. The manuscript's figure legends should state that "full-length blots/gels are presented in Supplemental Figure X."
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Cropped gels in the paper must retain important bands.
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Cropped blots in the body of the paper should retain at least six band widths above and below the band.
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High-contrast gels and blots are discouraged, as overexposure may mask additional bands. Authors should strive for exposures with gray backgrounds. Multiple exposures should be presented in supplementary information if high contrast is unavoidable. High-contrast immunoblots should be surrounded by a black line to indicate the borders of the blot.
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Describe all image acquisition tools and image processing software.
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Document key image-gathering settings and processing manipulations in the Supplementary Data.
Microscopy
The most important images should be made available to referees in images that are at least 300 dpi at the size which they will be published. Adjustments should be applied to the entire image. Threshold manipulation, expansion or contraction of signal ranges and the altering of high signals should be avoided. 'Pseudo-coloring' and nonlinear adjustment (e.g., 'gamma changes') are only allowed if unavoidable and must be disclosed. Include the following with the final revised version of the manuscript for publication:
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Include a magnification scale bar for each image.
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In the Methods section, specify the type of equipment (microscopes/objective lenses, cameras, detectors) used. Acquisition software should also be specified, as well as a description of specialized techniques requiring large amounts of processing, such as confocal, deconvolution, 3D reconstructions, or surface and volume rendering.
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In Supplementary Data, provide additional acquisition information for each image, including time and space resolution data (xyzt and pixel dimensions), image bit depth, experimental conditions such as temperature and imaging medium, and fluorochromes.
Review Process. All submitted manuscripts are assessed by an Editor, who makes the final recommendation on acceptance or rejection. The Editor will take one of the following steps: 1) directly select peer reviewers for the manuscript or 2) determine that the manuscript is not suitable for the journal and return it without peer review. All reviewers and editors are required to adhere to ethical guidelines that mandate strict confidentiality concerning all aspects of the manuscript and its content. Manuscripts submitted for consideration for publication are privileged communications, and the status of the manuscript and details regarding it are available only to AACR editorial staff, authors, and the editors and peer reviewers involved.
Submission of a manuscript implies acceptance by all authors of the strict policy of the AACR that under no circumstances will the identities, or information leading to the identities of, the Editors and/or reviewers, be revealed.
Every effort is made to render editorial decisions promptly. Authors who have registered their manuscripts may check their status online (http://mct.msubmit.net). Other inquiries should be made to the AACR Publications Department via Phone: (215) 440-9300; Fax: (215) 599-5646; or E-mail: mct@aacr.org.
Conflict of Interest. Journal policy requires that authors, reviewers, and Editorial Board Members reveal to the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Editors any relationships that they believe could be construed as resulting in an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest with regard to the manuscript submitted for review. Authors must disclose this information in the covering letter accompanying their submission, and reviewers are required to disclose this information upon agreeing to review a manuscript. The form will be provided to the Editors and Reviewers assigned to peer review the manuscript. Download the Corresponding Author's Conflict of Interest form directly. The existence of financial interests or other relationships of a commercial nature is not necessarily regarded as creating a conflict of interest. Rather, journal policy represents a recognition of the many factors that can influence judgments about research data and a desire to make as much information as possible available to those reviewing the data. If in the judgment of the Editor-in-Chief the information revealed does represent a potential conflict of interest, notification concerning the relationship may be published. If such action is deemed necessary, the authors will be informed before publication.
Availability of Materials. It is understood that by publishing any work in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics the authors agree to make freely available to other academic researchers any of the cells, clones of cells, DNA, antibodies, or other material used in the research reported and not available from commercial suppliers. The publication of articles including new genes, proteins, or crystallographic structures is contingent on deposition of the materials and/or structural coordinates in a publicly accessible database. Any corresponding accession numbers must be provided in the manuscript. The reporting requirements extend to the chemical structures of drugs, as well as sequences of oligonucleotides used in antisense strategies and RNA. In addition, AACR journals require the disclosure of chemical structures of any unpublished synthetic, low molecular weight (<1,000 g/mol) chemical compounds used as part of the described research (including clinical studies in humans). These requirements are subject to amendment as the need for disclosure changes with evolving technologies. Also, authors may be required to make primary data available to the Editor-in-Chief in cases of dispute.
Depositing Data in Public Databases. The AACR requires that authors submitting manuscripts describing microarray data be prepared to supply peer reviewers with the data in a format that conforms to the Minimum Information About a Microarray Gene Experiment (MIAME) guidelines of the Microarray Gene Expression Data society (MGED). These guidelines include a checklist of information to be included with each new microarray submission. Authors will also be required to deposit the data with either of two public repositories: GEO or Array Express and to publish the accession numbers in the article.
Large data sets of peripheral significance to the main thesis of the investigation will not be published in the print journals but may be posted in the Data Supplements section of the online version of the journals. Supplementary data should be submitted for review with the manuscript.
Authors of manuscripts with new nucleotide or amino acids sequences are asked to deposit the sequence information with GenBank (National Center for Biotechnology Information, Building 38A, Rm. 8N-803, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894; Phone: (301) 496-2475; Fax: (301) 480-9241; E-mail for information: info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; E-mail for submission: b-sub@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Authors outside of the United States may elect to deposit sequence information in the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) database (E-mail: datasubs@ebi.ac.uk) or the DNA Databank of Japan (E-mail: datasubs@ebi.ac.uk). The accession numbers for deposited sequences will be published with the article.
3. SUBMISSION FEE AND PAGE CHARGES
A per-page charge for each published page ($70 per page for the first 6 published pages; $90 per page for each additional published page) will be levied on all manuscripts accepted for publication. It is understood at the time of submission that the author(s) agree to pay this charge in the event of publication. Please refer to the Publication Fees and Reprints section for details. Under exceptional circumstances, when no grant or other source of support exists, the author(s) may apply to the Publisher at the time of submission for a waiver of the page charges. All such applications must be countersigned by an appropriate institutional official stating that no funds are available for the payment of page charges.
4. SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
Online Submission
Molecular Cancer Therapeuticsrequires that submissions be made electronically through the AACR SmartSubmit system. Complete details on how to submit a manuscript can be found when you log on to SmartSubmit to create an author account or on the AACR Website (Author Instructions).
(PDFs require Adobe Acrobat Reader — click icon for free download: 
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Registration
When you register online, you will be asked to provide or select the following:
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Title of the manuscript.
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Running title that does not exceed 50 characters in length to appear at the top of each printed page.
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Full name and affiliations of all authors, complete with first and middle names or initials, and contact information for each.
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A journal section that you believe to be the best match for your manuscript. Please note, however, that the final section assignments are made at the discretion of the editors.
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The type of manuscript and an indication of whether or not the paper was invited.
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At least two keywords from the pull-down list of terms to classify your manuscript. In addition to the keyword selection, you may also provide your own keywords in the text boxes provided.
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Upload PDFs or other files for Supplemental Data (if necessary).
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Cover letter to be uploaded along with your manuscript and graphics files. Include a description of the novel and salient findings of the work, as well as any information not covered elsewhere in the submission form.
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Authors should provide the names and affiliations of experts whom they feel are qualified to review their manuscript. Final assignment of the manuscript to peer-review, however, is made at the discretion of the Editors.
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Abstract (not to exceed 250 words) for most types of articles (see Categories of Publication) typed into the box provided. Abstracts are often copied directly by the secondary services, so they should recapitulate in abbreviated form the purpose of the study and the experimental technique, results, and interpretations of the data. Include a synopsis of all pertinent data, but do not include references. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms.
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Answers to questions about the manuscript, such as statement of authorship, notification of color reproduction costs, and disclosure of conflicts of interest.
When you have completed the submission form, you will be able to upload your cover letter, manuscript and graphics files, and supplemental data (if necessary). The following are acceptable formats for manuscript files: PDF (for original submissions only; not for revisions), Word, WordPerfect, EPS, Text, Postscript, or RTF. The following are acceptable formats for graphics files: TIFF, GIF, Postscript, or EPS format.* Figures/Images should NOT be embedded in the manuscript file. PDF files for figures/images are not acceptable. Please see Section 6 of this document (Format and Style) for additional information on figures.
Once you have successfully submitted your manuscript online, you will receive acknowledgement via e-mail.
*PowerPoint Files: Art submitted as a PowerPoint file will require re-formatting during production and runs the risk of the altering of text and image elements. Never convert PowerPoint files to TIFF or EPS as this can result in unwanted changes (e.g., missing or shifted text and/or image elements). Please note that PowerPoint 2007 has an option to automatically compress images when you save the presentation, thus compromising the image quality.
Revisions
If you have been asked to revise your paper and you are ready to resubmit it, log on to the AACR SmartSubmit system and, on your author homepage, click the Revised Manuscript link of the manuscript you wish to resubmit. You will be asked to review the information you originally submitted to confirm its accuracy. In your cover letter, please be sure to provide a point by point reply to the reviewers' comments as well as a listing of the changes made and page numbers where the changes appear.
When you have successfully resubmitted your manuscript, you will receive acknowledgment via e-mail.
Please note that all authors on a paper will be required to complete Conflict of Interest and Copyright Transfer forms prior to acceptance of any manuscript.
The revised version of your manuscript may undergo another review if the original submission required extensive changes or if the authors' responses to the criticisms entail rebuttal rather than revision. Authors of regular research articles are asked to submit revised versions within 5–6 weeks from the notification of the decision on a manuscript. The Editors acknowledge that a longer period might be needed to make the revisions in some cases; however, authors must request an extension by contacting the Publications Office or the resubmission will be considered a new manuscript and it will be subject to all of the conditions of an original submission.
Appeals for Reconsideration
Manuscripts that have been declined for publication will be reconsidered only at the Editor-in-Chief's or Senior Editor's discretion. Authors who wish to request reconsideration of a previously rejected manuscript should send electronically to mct@aacr.org a manuscript that has been revised in response to the criticisms along with a covering letter describing the revisions. The manuscript identification number of the previous submission should be referenced in the covering letter. If the Editor-in-Chief or Senior Editor determines that the paper should be reconsidered, you will be asked to submit it electronically, and it may be assigned a new manuscript identification number and date of receipt.
5. COVER FEATURES
The covers of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics feature illustrations the Editor-in-Chief selects from the articles scheduled for publication in that issue. Authors whose articles are chosen for a cover feature will be asked to provide a high-quality version of the selected illustration as well as a brief legend (four to five sentences) describing the significance of the image. In light of the rapid produ
6. FORMAT AND STYLE
Papers are to be written in clear, grammatical English and must be typed double-spaced. Papers that are not in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics style or that are not in good idiomatic English may be returned to the author without review. Laboratory jargon as well as terminology and abbreviations not consistent with internationally accepted guidelines should be avoided.
The AACR journals generally conform to usage guidelines in the following publications: Stedman's Medical Dictionary (Twenty-seventh Edition, 2000, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD); CBE Style Manual (Sixth Edition, 1994, published by the Council of Biology Editors, Inc., Northbrook, IL). For general guidance on manuscript preparation, consult the documents issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Large data sets of peripheral significance to the main thesis of the investigation will not be published in MCT but may be published in the Data Supplements section of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics online. Contact the AACR Publications Department for more information. Supplementary data should be submitted for review with the manuscript.
Manuscripts should be arranged in the following order: title, author(s) and complete name(s) and location(s) of institution(s) or laboratory(ies), running title, key words, abbreviations list, footnotes, text and references, tables, legends for all illustrations, illustrations, and other material. Numbered and lettered sections in the text should be avoided. Each table and illustration must be cited in order in the text. Simple chemical formulas or mathematical equations should be presented in a form that allows their reproduction in single horizontal lines of type; more complicated mathematical formulas or chemical structures difficult to set in type should be provided for reproduction in the form of line drawings, glossy photographs, or digital files (see Illustrations for more details).
Title. Write a brief, informative title limited, if possible, to about 100 characters. It is important for literature retrieval to include in the title the key words that identify the nature of the subject matter, including, if applicable, the species on which the work is done. Avoid expressions such as "Studies on . . . " or "Observations of . . . ", and avoid chemical formulas or abbreviations. Also, do not use Roman or Arabic numerals to designate that the paper is part of a series (see section below on Footnotes).
Authors and Affiliations. Authors are urged to include their full names, complete with first and middle names or initials. Academic degrees should not be included. The names and locations of institutions and the laboratories or names and locations of companies should be given. If several institutions are listed on a paper, it should be clearly indicated with which department and institution each author is affiliated by using superscript numbers that correspond to each author's affiliation.
Include the following footnotes to the title page (if applicable) in this order:
- Financial support, including the source and number of grants. Please identify the grant support for each author. This information will be published as a footnote if the article is accepted.
- Full name, mailing address, and e-mail address (optional) of the person to whom reprint requests should be sent.
- Potential conflicts of interest (if any). Further information on the AACR Journals' policy on Conflicts of Interest is available at If you have a potential conflict of interest to disclose, it must be included as a footnote on the title page of the manuscript. Further information on the AACR Journals' policy on Conflicts of Interest is available for download (Conflict of Interest Policy).
- Other notes about the paper as a whole (whether part of a series, conflict of interest statements, etc.).
Running Title. A brief running title of about 50 characters should be provided.
Key Words. On the title page, provide five key words identifying the subject of your article.
Abbreviations List. In addition to explaining abbreviations at first mention (see section on Abbreviations), authors should also list all abbreviations used on the title page of the manuscript.
Footnotes. In most instances information should be presented in the text, not in footnotes. If footnotes are necessary, use superscript Arabic numerals consecutively throughout the text.
For footnotes to tables, see the section on Tables.
ction schedule for journal covers, authors are expected to provide the requested material within 3 days.
Abstract. The abstract that appears at the beginning of the paper should be concise, yet outline the content of the paper (see the specifications for each type of article for abstract length). Because abstracts are often copied directly by secondary services (such as Medline, Chemical Abstracts, etc.), they should recapitulate in abbreviated form the purpose of the study and the experimental technique, results, and data interpretations. Data such as the number of test subjects and controls, strains of animals or viruses, drug dosages and routes of administration, tumor yields and latent periods, length of observation period, and magnitude of activity should be included. Vague, general statements such as "The significance of the results is discussed," or "Some physical properties were studied," are uninformative and not acceptable. All important terms relevant to the content of the paper should be incorporated into the abstract to assist indexers in the derivation of key words. Abbreviations should be kept to an absolute minimum; however, if they are needed, they must be explained at first mention so the abstract can be understood independent of the text. Do not cite references in the abstract.
Introduction. It is not necessary to cite all of the background literature in the Introduction. Brief reference to the most pertinent papers generally suffices to acquaint the reader with the findings of others in the field and with the problem or question that the investigation addresses.
Materials and Methods. Explanation of the experimental methods should be brief but adequate for repetition by qualified investigators. Procedures that have been published previously should not be described in detail but merely cited appropriate references. Only new and significant modifications of previously published procedures need complete exposition. The sources of special chemicals or preparations used should be given along with their locations (City, State, and Country, if not the U.S.).
This Journal endorses the principles embodied in the Declaration of Helsinki and expects that all investigations involving humans will have been performed in accordance with these principles. In particular, papers reporting human experimentation must include a statement that the human investigations were performed after approval by an institutional review board and in accordance with an assurance filed with and approved by the Department of Health and Human Services, where appropriate. Also, papers reporting biomedical research involving human subjects must include a statement that informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject's guardian. To obtain a copy of the Helsinki Declaration, contact the World Medical Association, Bôite Postale 63, 01210, Ferney-Voltaire Cedex, France, or acquire a copy from the WMA Website.
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics is a staunch supporter of the most humane treatment of animals in the conduct of scientific studies, and it is expected that investigators will adhere to widely accepted national standards such as the following:
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The U.S. Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, available from the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, RKLI, Suite 360, MSC 7982, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-7982.
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The United Kingdom Coordinating Committee on Cancer Research's "Guidelines for the Welfare of Animals in Experimental Neoplasia" (Second Edition, 1997). This report encourages researchers to "refine endpoints in experimental neoplasia and to disseminate best practice by publishing such improvements, to incorporate welfare statements in experimental protocols, and to report compliance with appropriate guidelines in publications."
Only the results (particularly the photographic presentation of experimental data) in which proper attention has been given to ethical considerations toward animals will be published, and the AACR reserves the right to reject papers that do not follow accepted standards.
Results. Include a concise summary of the data presented in tables and illustrations. Excessive elaboration of data already given in tables and illustrations should be avoided. The Results and Discussion sections should be combined if, by so doing, space is saved or the logical sequence of the material is improved.
Discussion. The data should be interpreted concisely without repeating material already presented in the Results section. Speculation is permissible, but it must be well founded, and discussion of the wider implications of the findings is encouraged.
References. Number the references in the order of their first mention in the text; cite only the number assigned to the reference. The reference list should be limited to only those citations essential to the presentation. When comprehensive review articles are available, citation of the review article is preferred to citing many separate references.
Before submission of the paper, authors should verify the accuracy of all references and check that all references have been cited in the text. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reference style follows that of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, which can be found on the website of the National Library of Medicine.
Use the Medline journal abbreviations and follow the reference style shown on the Website noted above, with the following exceptions:
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List all authors when there are six or fewer. If there are more than six authors, list the first three followed by et al.
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Do not use a period (full stop) at the end of the journal title or abbreviation.
References Examples
Gray PJ Jr, Bearss DJ, Han H, et al. Identification of human polo-like kinase 1 as a potential therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. Mol Cancer Ther 2004;3:641–6.
Yuspa SH, Hennings H, Roop D, Strickland J, Greenhalgh DA. Genes and mechanisms involved in malignant conversion. In: Harris CC, Liotta LA, editors. Genetic mechanisms in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1990. p.115–26.
Papers in press. Papers in press may be listed among the references provided a journal name and tentative year of publication can be verified.
Unpublished material. Papers in preparation or submitted for publication, unpublished data, and personal communications should be cited in a footnote, not in the Reference section. The names of all authors should be given, along with the title of the paper, if possible. Authors should secure permission from the authors of unpublished material to cite it.
Addenda. Data acquired after acceptance of the paper, by the authors themselves or by others, cannot be added to the text. Such addenda are subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief and could result in delay of publication. Addenda should be kept extremely brief.
Tables. Tabular material should not duplicate data already presented in detail in the text, nor should tables be only lists. A table should compare values. If you are putting data in a table, summarize the data in the text and reference the table. Unnecessary columns of data that can easily be derived from other data in the table should not be included. Large groups of individual values should be avoided; instead, these should be averaged and an appropriate designation of the dispersion such as standard deviation or standard error included.
Authors are obliged to indicate the significance of their observations by appropriate statistical analysis.
Every table must have a descriptive title and enough explanatory information so the reader can understand the data without reference to the text. Each column must carry an appropriate heading and, if measurements are given, the units should be given with the column heading. Number tables using Arabic numerals; table footnotes should be indicated with standard footnote signs: *, †, ‡, §, ||, **, ††, etc. Include a Note after the footnotes in which all abbreviations used in the table that have not been used in the text are explained.
Illustrations. Line drawings (graphs) or halftone illustrations (photographs, photomicrographs, electrophoretic patterns) are designated as figures. Figures should be used when salient points need illustration for better comprehension by the reader. Figures must be cited in the order in which they appear in the text.
All figures must have legends that briefly describe the data shown; details given in the text of the paper should not be repeated. Please note that all figure legends should be listed together in one section (Figure Legends) directly preceding the appearance of the figures in the manuscript. Stains and original magnifications should be listed where applicable. Each legend should adequately identify all parts, symbols, abbreviations, mathematical expressions, abscissas, ordinates, units, and reference points on the figure. Abbreviations explained in the text of the article need not be re-explained in the figure legend.
When graphs are reduced to the size of a single column (7.9375 cm / 3.125 in), the text on them must be no smaller than 6 point type and no larger than 12 point type, and all symbols must be discernible. Avoid gray shading or screening in graphs, particularly bar graphs. Avoid using very thin, broken, or dotted lines.
Figure symbols should be defined in the legend. Only those common symbols for which the printer has type should be used. Lines connecting the symbols should not extend beyond the data points. In the published form, the minimum thickness of lines (rules) used to present drawn art is 0.5 point. If a drawn image will be reduced in size for publication, the lines used to draw the original art must be thick enough to be reduced and still meet the minimum requirement. Lines thinner than 0.5 point thickness may be completely lost if an image is reduced in size.
Graphs should be ruled off close to the area occupied by the curve, and abscissas and ordinates should be clearly marked with appropriate units. Explanations of the coordinates should not extend beyond the respective lines. Do not box-in graphs with top and right-hand frame lines unless these are essential for reference. Titles printed outside the confines of the drawing waste space; all of this information should be included in the legend. Also, to conserve space those curves that may appropriately appear together should be included in a single graph.
Halftones that must appear together for comparison should be grouped under one figure number with each section given sequential letters (A, B, C) in the upper left-hand corner on the face of the illustration. Composite figures may be mounted on a plate, with the sections butted together and tooling (thin lines) placed between the parts of the figure. For optimal reproduction, the contrast among photographs on a plate should be consistent. The overall dimensions of photographs on a plate should not exceed 18.41 cm x 22.86 cm / 7.25 in x 9 in. The minimum dimensions to which the plate can be reduced must be indicated on the back.
Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Internal scale markers should be included on the photographs themselves or the original magnification should be given in the legend because it may be necessary to reduce the figures.
7. ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations are in general a hindrance to readers in fields other than that of the author(s), to abstractors, and to scientists whose primary language is not English. Authors should limit their use to an absolute minimum. Use only abbreviations for terms that are better known as an abbreviation-such as DNA-or use widely accepted abbreviations. Single words should not be abbreviated-for example, melanoma, folate, vincristine. Abbreviations are not to be used in titles, but running titles may carry abbreviations for brevity. All abbreviations must be explained at first mention unless the term is better known as an abbreviation (see Standard Abbreviations below).
Authors should follow the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature.
Standard Abbreviations. Authors may use, without definition, abbreviations of units of measure when they are used with units (1.5 cm). The following are examples of standard abbreviations that may be used in the text, without explanation:
| ABVD* |
Adriamycin (doxorubicin), bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine |
| ADP, dADP |
|
| AMP, dAMP |
|
| AATP, dATP |
|
| bp |
base pair(s) |
| CDP, cCDP |
|
| CMP, cCMP |
|
| CNBr |
cyanogen bromide |
| cDNA |
complementary DNA |
| CoA |
coenzyme A |
| CTL |
cytotoxic T-lymphocyte |
| CTP, dCTP |
|
| cyclic ADP |
adenosine 3[prime],5[prime]-diphosphate |
| cyclic AMP |
adenosine 3[prime],5[prime]-monophosphate |
| DEAE |
diethylaminoethyl |
| DNA, cDNA |
|
| EDTA |
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid |
| EGTA |
ethyleneglycotetraacetic acid |
| EtOH |
etomidate |
| GDP, dGDP |
|
| GMP, dGMP |
|
| GTP, dGTP |
|
| HEPES |
4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid or |
|
N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N[prime]-2-ethanesulfonic acid |
| IDP, dIDP |
|
| IMP, dIMP |
|
| IR |
infrared |
| ITP, dITP |
|
| MOPP |
mechlorethamine, oncovin (vincristine), procarbazine, and prednisone |
| NAD+ |
NADH |
| NADP+ |
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (oxidized form) |
| NADPH |
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (reduced form) |
| PBS |
phosphate-buffered saline |
| PIPES |
1,4-piperazinediethanesulfonic acid |
| POPOP |
1,4-bis[Isqb]2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)[rsqb]benzene |
| PPO |
2,5 diphenyloxazole |
| Pi, Ppi |
orthophosphate, pyrophosphate |
| Rf |
retardation factor |
| RFLP |
restriction fragment length polymorphism |
| RIA |
radioimmunoassay |
| RKO cells |
|
| RNA, aRNA, mRNA, nRNA, tRNA |
|
| Rnase, DNase |
|
| RPMI |
Roswell Park Memorial Institute |
| rRNA |
spell out as "Ribosomal RNA" in title only |
| SD |
standard deviation |
| SDS |
sodium dodecyl sulfate |
| SDS-PAGE |
sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis |
| SEM |
standard error of the mean |
| SSC |
standard saline-citrate |
| SV40 |
Simian Virus 40 |
| TBS |
Tris-buffered saline |
|
|
| TDP, dTDP |
|
| TEAE |
triethylaminoethyl |
| TMP, dTMP |
|
| TTP, dTTP |
|
| Tris |
tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamine |
| UDP, dUDP |
|
| UMP, dump |
|
| UTP, dUTP |
|
| USP units |
|
| USPHS |
United States Public Health Service |
| UTP |
uridine 5c-triphosphate |
| UV |
ultraviolet |
| w/v |
weight per volume |
| w/w |
weight for weight |
8. TERMINOLOGY
Use the approved terms and abbreviations for chemical substances recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Comprehensive recommendations on nomenclature are available online. Recommended nomenclature for biomedical and physical sciences can be found in Scientific Style and Format, Seventh Edition, Council of Biology Editors (now the Council of Science Editors), 2006.
Authors should use the Recommended Name given in Enzyme Nomenclature 1992: Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry on the Nomenclature and Classification of Enzymes (Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL, 1992). In some cases the Systematic Name or the reaction catalyzed should also be included. It is strongly recommended that the Enzyme Commission number be stated at first mention. Supplements to this work are available online (www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme).
Designations for mouse strains should conform to the Rules and Guidelines for Genetic Nomenclature in Mice, from the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice (Mouse Genome; 1994:92: vii–xxxii).
Generic names of drugs are preferred with the brand name included at first mention only to identify new components that may not be recognized by their generic name. If a non-U.S. proprietary name is used, the name of the comparable U.S. product should be given. When there is no generic name for a drug, authors should give the chemical name or formula or a description of the active ingredients.
Authors should refer to the formally adopted generic names listed in the current edition of USAN and the USP Dictionary of Drug Names.
9. CORRECTING PROOFS
Authors will receive page proofs electronically. Alterations in proof are costly and, if extensive, can lead to publication delays. Authors will be charged for excessive changes in proof not due to printer's errors. The Editors retain the prerogative to question alterations that do not follow the journal's style and alterations that might affect the scientific content of the paper. Authors should check their proofs carefully to ensure that all special characters converted properly from the electronic files submitted.
Page proofs should be returned to the AACR Publications Department within 24 hours of receipt via an overnight delivery service. Proofs not received by the deadline will be published without the authors' corrections or publication will be delayed to a later issue. Authors who will not be available to read their proofs should appoint someone to handle the proofreading in their absence.
10. PUBLICATION FEES AND REPRINTS
Publication fees for Molecular Cancer Therapeutics articles include a per-page charge of $70 for the first 6 published pages and $90 for each additional published page. Articles containing color figures are also subject to a color reproduction charge of $625 per figure. Figures converted to black and white at the proof stage will not have this fee waived. Fees must be agreed to before the article is accepted and are also itemized on the reprint order form that is sent to authors with their proofs. If this form is not in your proof package, the AACR Publications Department should be contacted immediately (Phone: (215) 440-9300; Fax: (215) 599-5646).
The reprint order form must be completed and returned two weeks before publication, even if reprints are not desired, because payment information for the publication fees is required. Failure to return the form with this information will delay publication of your article.
Prepayment for publication fees and, if desired, for reprints, can be made in the form of a check (in USD, drawn on a U.S. bank), signed institutional purchase order, or credit card (VISA, Mastercard, American Express) information supplied on the reprint order form, which serves as a proforma invoice. Return the order form and payment made payable to: American Association for Cancer Research.
Reprints are shipped approximately 2 weeks after publication of the journal. Allow extra time for delivery.
After publication, the cost of reprints for articles that contain color is much more expensive than before publication, and this cost will be estimated on an individual basis. For such an estimate or if you have any other inquiries regarding reprints, please contact the AACR at pubs@aacr.org.
A footnote should be supplied indicating to which author reprint requests should be addressed.
11. COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSIONS
As a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the United States, AACR adheres to U.S. copyright law (PL 94-553), which became effective January 1, 1978. The law stipulates that copyright for works is vested in the author from the moment of creation and remains the property of the author until legally transferred. Authors who wish to publish articles and other material in AACR journals must formally transfer copyright to AACR. The copyright transfer form must be signed by all authors before AACR can proceed with publication. Appropriate forms for transfer of copyright will be required from all authors after a manuscript has been deemed potentially acceptable.
Authors—use the form available online (MCT Copyright Transfer Form) or request a form from the AACR Publications Department. The journal will not publish a paper unless the form is properly filled out and signed by all authors.
NOTE: You now have the option with many of our forms to either print out, complete by hand, and fax back to the AACR Publications Department, (215) 440-9354, or to complete it electronically. With our writable PDF forms (contains fields within the PDF in which one can type information or add a signature) you will need to add a digital signature (an electronic signature used to authenticate the identity of the signer of a document). Instructions on how to create a digital signature are available for download.
(PDFs require Adobe Acrobat Reader — click icon for free download: )
It is understood in conveying copyright that the authors have not published this material elsewhere, either whole or in part (except in abbreviated form as a preliminary communication or abstract), and that they have neither concluded previous negotiations nor initiated pending negotiations for copyright of this material.
The duly authorized agent of a commercial firm or commissioning organization must sign the AACR copyright transfer form if the author prepared the article as part of his or her official duties as an employee.
The federal government has determined that it has a nonexclusive right to publish or republish material developed from work performed by federal employees. Since the federal government does not recognize private copyright for work performed by its employees as part of their official duties, the journal will accept papers from government laboratories without copyright transfer, provided that the authors abide by the same provisions required of other authors and sign the appropriate section of our Copyright Transfer form.
Authors of articles published in AACR journals are permitted to use their article or parts of their article in the following ways without requesting permission from the AACR. All such uses must include appropriate attribution to the original AACR publication. Authors may:
-
reproduce parts of their article, including figures and tables, in books, reviews, or subsequent research articles they write;
-
use parts of their article in presentations, including figures downloaded into PowerPoint, which can be done directly from the Journal's website;
-
post the accepted version of their article (after revisions resulting from peer review but before editing and formatting) on their institutional website, if this is required by their institution. The version on the institutional repository must contain a link to the final, published version of the article on the AACR journal website. The posted version may be released publicly (made open to anyone) 12 months after its publication in the journal;
-
submit a copy of their article to his or her university in support of a doctoral thesis.
The AACR will routinely allow third parties (persons who are not authors) to use all or parts of articles for educational, not-for-profit purposes and for purposes defined as fair use in the copyright law, without charge. Third parties may include select parts of a copyrighted article in published reviews, books, or subsequent papers, provided that the requesting party obtain written permission from the AACR Publications Department. For each requested use of an article, the AACR Permission Request Form should be completed and returned to the AACR Publications Department Fax: (215) 440-9354; E-mail: permissions@aacr.org. Persons requesting permission should use the form available online (Permission Form).
Requests to reproduce an article in its entirety will be considered on an individual basis and permission may be granted contingent upon payment of an appropriate copyright fee. All reproduction requests must include a brief description of intended use.
Our standard turnaround time for permission request replies is two weeks. Please note that if a reply is required in five or fewer business days, a $50.00 per request Rush Fee may be assessed. The Rush Fee is levied in addition to any applicable copyright fees.
Free Access to AACR Journal Articles
All content of AACR journals is made free (open) to anyone to read or use (subject to the conditions listed above) 12 months after its original publication at our online publishing site www.aacrjournals.org. In addition, AACR provides several hundred countries in the developing world with immediate free access to all AACR journals through the HINARI program. Select content will sometimes be made freely available immediately upon publication. Patients or caregivers who need access to an article that is not already freely available should write to pubs@aacr.org.
Funding Agency Requirements
Although AACR does not agree with the decision of some funding agencies to require deposit on government websites of articles that are already made available free to anyone online at the Publisher's expense and that are maintained online in stable archives, we recognize that funding agencies have forbidden their grantees to publish in journals that do not allow such mandated deposits.
Because AACR does not wish to do anything that prohibits scientists from publishing in the journal of their choice, we have developed policies to accommodate the mandates of funding agencies. We will continue to work to reduce the literature redundancy these mandates impose, and have decided, for the immediate future, to not add to the financial burden of scientists by imposing fees for mandated deposits. The AACR Board will continue to review our policies to ensure they meet the needs of our authors.
::::: PubMed Central Archiving :::::
Assisting Authors with Archiving Mandates
Beginning May 18, 2009 the AACR will assist journal authors in meeting their funders' archiving mandates. Authors of articles published in AACR journals can elect to have the AACR deposit their accepted manuscripts to PubMed Central or UK PubMed Central, thereby meeting the archiving requirements of the following funding agencies:
- National Institutes of Health
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Cancer Research UK
- Wellcome trust
- Medical Research Council
When an author submits a manuscript to an AACR journal, he or she will be asked to indicate whether any manuscript authors are employed by or funded by any of the agencies listed above. The author will then be asked to select one of the following options for manuscript archiving:
- My manuscript is funded by National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and/or the Medical Research Council. If this manuscript is accepted for publication, please archive it on behalf of the authors. By choosing this option, I authorize AACR to transmit information to the archive that I specify.
- My manuscript is funded by National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and/or the Medical Research Council, but I do not wish AACR to archive this manuscript if accepted. I understand that it is my responsibility to archive in accordance with my funder's policies.
- My manuscript is not funded by National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and/or the Medical Research Council. This service is not applicable to me.
If the author chooses option #1, the accepted version of the manuscript will be uploaded to the repository upon acceptance, with a release date of twelve months (for National Institutes of Health) or six months (for Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and the Medical Research Council) post-publication. Authors may be contacted by the repository for approval of the submission.
Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief
Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D.
Deputy Editors
Susan P. C. Cole, Ph.D., F.R.S.C.
O. Michael Colvin, M.D.
Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D.
Senior Editors
O. Michael Colvin, M.D.
Experimental Cancer Therapeutics
Allen I. Oliff, M.D.
Identification of Molecular Targets
Gary B. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.
Targets for Chemoprevention
Eva Y-H. P. Lee, Ph.D.
New Models
Kenneth W. Bair, Ph.D.
Cancer Chemistry and Drug Discovery
Susan P. C. Cole, Ph.D.
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
Paul Meltzer, M.D., Ph.D.
Molecular Classification of Tumors
Andreas D. Baxevanis, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics and Computational Molecular Biology
Editorial Board Members
Robert T. Abraham
Francis Ali-Osman
Suresh V. Ambudkar
Carlos L. Arteaga
Susan E. Bates
Gerald Batist
William T. Beck
Richard Bertrand
George Blackledge
Henry Brem
J. Martin Brown
H. J. Broxterman
Michael A. Caligiuri
Renzo Canetta
Patrick J. Casey
Carol E. Cass
Yung-chi Cheng
Michaele Chambler Christian
Esteban Cvitkovic
William S. Dalton
Anne H. Dantzig
Roger G. Deeley
George D. Demetri
William A. Denny
Mark W. Dewhirst
Maurizio D’Incalci
Ethan Dmitrovsky
M. Eileen Dolan
Steven F. Dowdy
A. M. M. Eggermont
Daniel E. Epner
Leonard C. Erickson
I. Fichtner
Heinz-H. Fiebig
Henry S. Friedman
Suzanne A. W. Fuqua
Ram Ganapathi
Giampietro Gasparini
Robert A. Gatenby
Stanton L. Gerson
A. J. Gescher
L. Michael Glod?br> I. David Goldman
Michael M. Gottesman
Joe W. Gray
Louise B. Grochow
Lorraine J. Gudas
Douglas Hanahan
Sidney Hecht
Stephen S. Hecht
Roy S. Herbst
Peter J. Houghton
Laurence H. Hurley
Tyler Jacks
Elizabeth M. Jaffee
Candace S. Johnson
Randall K. Johnson
Olli Kallioniemi
Scott E. Kern
Samir N. Khleif
Donald W. Kufe
Michihiko Kuwano
John S. Lazo
Edison T. Liu
H. Kim Lyerly
H. Magdelenat
Lawrence D. Mayer
Donald P. McDonnell
J. Patrick McGovren
Christopher J. Michejda
Paul S. Miller
Michael Müller
Stephen Neidle
David R. Newell
Robert A. Newman
Perry Nisen
Ira Pastan
Homer L. Pearce
H. M. Pinedo
William K. Plunkett
Mihael H. Polymeropoulos
Yves Pommier
Garth Powis
Pat Price
Waldemar Priebe
Eddie Reed
Youcef M. Rustum
Ahmad R. Safa
Nagahiro Saijo
Edward A. Sausville
Jan H. M. Schellens
Susy M. E. Scholl
Kathleen W. Scotto
Saïd M. Sebti
Scott B. Selleck
Laura K. Shawver
Branimir I. Sikic
Francis M. Sirotnak
Michael B. Sporn
C. A. Stein
Takashi Tsuruo
Geoffrey M. Wahl
David J. Waxman
Louis M. Weiner
Danny R. Welch
Alexander W. Wood
Paul Workman
Heinz H. Zwierzina
