General Policy

ANTICANCER RESEARCH (AR) will accept original high-quality works and reviews on all aspects of experimental and clinical cancer research. The Editorial Policy suggests that priority will be given to papers advancing the understanding of cancer causation, and to papers applying the results of basic research to cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. Each article should include a concrete conclusion constituting of a “new piece of knowledge” backed up by unambiguous and accurate scientific evidence. AR will also accept the following for publication: (a) Abstracts and Proceedings of scientific meetings on cancer, following consideration and approval by the Editorial Board; (b) Announcements of meetings related to cancer research; (c) Short reviews (of approximately 120 words) and announcements of newly received books and journals related to cancer, and (d) Announcements of awards and prizes.

The principal aim of AR is to provide prompt publication (print and online) for original works of high quality, generally within 1-2 months from final acceptance. Manuscripts will be accepted on the understanding that they report original unpublished works in the field of cancer research that are not under consideration for publication by another journal, and that they will not be published again in the same form. All authors should sign a submission letter confirming the approval of their article contents. All material submitted to AR will be subject to peer-review, when appropriate, by two to three suitable referees. All manuscripts submitted to AR are urgently treated with absolute confidence, with access restricted to the Managing Editor, the journal’s secretary, the reviewers, and the printers. The Editors reserve the right to improve manuscripts on grammar and style.

AR requires that all manuscripts be prepared in accordance with the “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals” as published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). We also support and adhere to the “Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing” (a joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, WAME, and OASPA).

The Editors and Publishers of AR accept no responsibility for the contents and opinions expressed by the contributors. Authors should warrant due diligence in the creation and issuance of their work.

AR is a monthly print and online hybrid open-access journal (a subscription journal in which some of the articles are open access). All articles that are published as open access are with gold OA, which means that the final published version is permanently and freely available to anyone. All articles of Anticancer Research in HighWire become open access two years after their publication. Our open access articles are distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 international license.

Manuscript Format

Three types of papers may be submitted: (i) Full papers containing completed original work, (ii) review articles concerning fields of recognizable progress, and (iii) letters to the Editor. Papers should contain all essential data in order to make the presentation clear. Reasonable economy should be exercised with respect to the number of tables and illustrations used. Papers should be written in clear, concise American English.

Submitted original manuscripts exceeding 5 printed pages will be subject to excess page charges. The 5 printed pages correspond approximately to twelve (12) document pages (~250 words per double-spaced typed page in Arial 12), including abstract, text, tables, figures, and references. Excess pages are charged USD 230.00 each. Each color page is charged USD 350.00. Review articles should not exceed 35 pages (approximately 250 words per double-spaced typed page) including all tables, figures, and references.

Sections

All manuscripts should be divided into the following sections:

1. First page including (i) the title of the presented work [not exceeding fifteen (15) words], (ii) full names and affiliations of all authors (with a maximum of 20 authors), (iii) name of the corresponding author(s) (with a maximum of 2 corresponding authors) to whom proofs are to be sent (with affiliation, full postal address, telephone and e-mail), (iv) key words, (v) an abbreviated running title, (vi) an indication “review”, “clinical”, “epidemiological”, or “experimental” study, and (vii) the date of submission. Note: The order of the authors is not necessarily indicative of their contribution to the work. Authors may note their individual contribution(s) in the appropriate section(s) of the presented work. Affiliations should be indicated with a superscript number immediately after each author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Affiliations should not include street, box number or postal (zip) code.
2. Abstract not exceeding 280 words, organized according to the following headings: Background/Aim – Materials and Methods/Patients and Methods – Results – Conclusion. For Case Reports the structure should be as follows: Background/Aim – Case Report – Conclusion.
3. Introduction;
4. Materials and Methods/Patients and Methods/Case Report;
5. Results (not needed in a Case Report);
6. Discussion;
7. Conclusion;
8. Conflicts of Interest;
9. Authors’ Contributions;
10. Acknowledgements;
11. Funding;
12. AI Disclosure;
13. References

All pages must be numbered consecutively. Footnotes should be avoided. Review articles may follow a different style according to the subject matter and the author’s opinion.

Headings and Subsections

The article should be divided into clearly defined unnumbered sections. Main headings should be typed in bold on a separate line on the left of the page. The subheadings should be typed in bold italics at the left of the page on a separate line, and only the first word should begin with a capital letter. The sub-subheadings should be typed in italics on a new line, aligned full left. The text should start on the same line with subheadings and sub-subheadings.

Figures

All figures should appear at the end of the submitted document file and should be numbered with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) according to their sequence in the text. Once a manuscript is accepted all figures and graphs should be submitted separately in either jpg, tiff, or pdf format and at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Graphs must be submitted as pictures made from drawings and must not require any artwork, typesetting, or size modifications. Symbols, numbering, and lettering should be clearly legible. The number and top of each figure must be indicated.

Tables

All tables should appear at the end of the submitted document file and should be numbered with Latin numerals (I, II, III, etc.) according to their sequence in the text. Once a manuscript is accepted, each table should be submitted separately in an editable format, typed double-spaced. Tables should include a short title. Tables should not be divided into two or more parts, should not contain vertical rules, and the main body of the table should not contain horizontal rules.

Numerals

The authors should write numbers of 10 or more as numerals except at the beginning of a sentence. Numbers one to nine should be written in words, unless they precede units of measure or are used as designators. The authors should use decimal points (not decimal commas) and a comma for thousands (1,000 and above). Decimals should not be quoted with naked points, for example the authors should quote 0.01, not .01. p-Values for significant outcomes can be quoted as below a threshold significance value (e.g., p<0.05, 0.01, 0.001), but wherever possible should be quoted as an exact probability value. Departure from a significance threshold of 0.05 should be stated and justified in the Methods. Nonsignificant outcomes should be indicated with an exact probability value whenever possible, or as NS or p>0.05, as appropriate for the test.

Supplementary Material

The journal does not have provision for use of supplementary material (Tables, Figures, Videos, or other material). The authors may (i) include their supplementary Tables/Figures as standard material or (ii) provide their own http/ftp link and upload the material on a website maintained by the authors (in this case the links for the supplementary material are given at the end of the paper under the section “Supplementary Material”) or (iii) exclude the material from publication and provide it only for Reviewers’ attention.

Conflicts of Interest and Authors’ Contributions

All authors will be asked to supply authors’ contributions and conflicts of interest information. We encourage authors to outline their individual contributions to the paper using the relevant CRediT roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure

Authors must disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the manuscript, clearly stating whether AI was not used, or if used, specifying the extent and purpose of its application.

References

Authors must assume responsibility for the accuracy of the references used. Citations for the reference sections of submitted works should follow the form below and must be numbered consecutively. In the text, references should be cited by number in parenthesis, e.g., (1, 2). Examples:

Kenyon J, Liu W, Dalgleish A: Report of objective clinical responses of cancer patients to pharmaceutical-grade synthetic cannabidiol. Anticancer Res 38(10): 5831-5835, 2018. DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.12924 (DOIs only if applicable)

McGuire WL and Chamnes GC: Studies on the oestrogen receptor in breast cancer. In: Receptors for Reproductive Hormones. O’ Malley BW, Chamnes GC (eds.). New York City, NY, USA, Plenum Publ Corp., pp 113-136, 1973.

Global Health Estimates 2015: Disease Burden by Cause, Age, Sex, by Country and by Region, 2000-2015. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organisation, 2016. Available at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates/en/index2.html [Last accessed on April 3, 2018] (The web address should link directly to the cited information and not to a generic webpage)

You may download our journal’s style for Endnote here. 

Nomenclature and Abbreviations

Nomenclature should follow that given in “Chemical Abstracts”, “Index Medicus”, “Merck Index”, “IUPAC -IUB”, “Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology”, The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and Publishers (6th edition, 1994), and MIAME Standard for Microarray Data. Human gene symbols may be obtained from the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC). Approved mouse nomenclature may be obtained from http://www.informatics.jax.org/. Standard abbreviations are preferable. The authors should define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first mention in the abstract, main text, Figures and Table legends, and should ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Definitions

Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). In humans, a binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth (‘sex assigned at birth’), most often based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours and identities of women, men, and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ can be ambiguous; thus, it is important for authors of studies on human subjects to define the way they are used.

Submission Process

Submission of Manuscripts

Please follow the Instructions for Authors regarding the format of your manuscript and references.

Manuscripts must be submitted only through our online submission system at: http://www.iiar-submissions.com/login.html

In case a submission is incomplete, the corresponding author will be notified accordingly. Questions regarding difficulties in using the online submission system should be addressed to email: journals@iiar-anticancer.org

Article Transfer Service

If the Editor feels that the submitted manuscript is more suitable for an alternative journal, the authors might be asked to consider transferring the manuscript to such a journal. If they agree, the manuscript will be transferred, though the authors will have the opportunity to make changes to the manuscript before the submission is complete. The manuscript will be independently reviewed by the new journal.

Revision of Manuscripts

When the authors revise their paper, they need to prepare a detailed explanation of how they have dealt with the reviewers’ comments and include their response on the first page of the revised manuscript file. In addition, the authors should use the reviewers’ edited manuscript file for their corrections (not the original submitted file) and submit online a highlighted version of their revised manuscript. For the highlighted version, the authors may use the Track Changes tool in MS Word or highlight their changes in yellow.

Galley Proofs

Unless otherwise indicated, galley proofs will be sent to the corresponding author of the submission. Corrections of galley proofs should be limited to typographical errors. Galley proofs should be returned corrected to the Editorial Office by email (iiar@iiar-anticancer.org) within 24 hours.

Specific Information and Additional Instructions for Authors

1. Anticancer Research (AR) closely follows the new developments in all fields of experimental and clinical cancer research by (a) inviting reviews on topics of immediate importance and substantial progress in the last three years, and (b) providing the highest priority for rapid publication to manuscripts presenting original results judged to be of exceptional value. Theoretical papers will only be considered and accepted if they bear a significant impact or formulate existing knowledge for the benefit of research progress.
2. AR will consider the publication of conference proceedings and/or abstracts provided that the material submitted fulfils the quality requirements and instructions of the journal, following the regular review process by two suitable referees.
3. An acknowledgement of receipt, including the article number, title and date of receipt is sent to the corresponding author of each manuscript upon receipt. If this receipt is not received within 20 days from submission, the author should call or write to the Editorial Office to ensure that the manuscript (or the receipt) was properly uploaded during the electronic submission.
4. Each manuscript submitted to AR is sent for peer-review (single-blind) in confidence to two-three suitable referees with the request to return the manuscript with their comments to the Editorial Office within 12 days from receipt. If reviewers need a longer time or wish to send the manuscript to another expert, the manuscript may be returned to the Editorial Office with a delay. All manuscripts submitted to AR, are treated in confidence, without access to any person other than the Managing Editor, the journal’s secretary, the reviewers, and the printers.
5. All accepted manuscripts are carefully corrected in style and language, if necessary, to make presentation clear (there is no fee for this service). Every effort is made (a) to maintain the personal style of the author’s writing and (b) to avoid change of meaning. Authors will be requested to examine carefully manuscripts which have undergone language correction at the pre-proof or proof stage.
6. Authors should pay attention to the following points when writing an article for AR:

• • The Instructions to Authors must be followed in every detail.
  • Authors submitting manuscripts for review in our journal are kindly requested to utilize their institutional e-mail addresses instead of personal ones. This ensures efficient communication and maintains academic integrity throughout the review process.
  • The presentation of the experimental methods should be clear and complete in every detail facilitating reproducibility by other scientists.
  • The presentation of results should be simple and straightforward in style. Results and discussion should not be combined into one section, unless the paper is short.
  • Results given in figures should not be repeated in tables.
  • Figures (graphs or photographs) should be prepared at a width of 8 or 17 cm with legible numbers and lettering.
  • Photographs should be clear with high contrast, presenting the actual observation described in the legend and in the text. Each legend should provide a complete description, being self-explanatory, including technique of preparation, information about the specimen and magnification.
  • Statistical analysis should be elaborated wherever it is necessary. Simplification of presentation by giving only numerical or % values should be avoided.
  • Fidelity of the techniques and reproducibility of the results should be points of particular importance in the discussion section. Authors are advised to check the correctness of their methods and results carefully before writing an article. Probable or dubious explanations should be avoided.
  • Authors should not cite results submitted for publication in the reference section. Such results may be described briefly in the text with a note in parenthesis (submitted for publication by… authors, year).
  • Authors must disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the manuscript, clearly stating whether AI was not used, or if used, specifying the extent and purpose of its application.
  • References. Each article should address, list, and discuss the entire spectrum of current publications relevant to its field. All cited references must provide sufficient and valid peer-reviewed results leading to clear and reliable conclusions.
  • By following these instructions, Authors will facilitate a more rapid review and processing of their manuscripts and will provide the readers with concise and useful papers.

7. Following review and acceptance, a manuscript is examined in language and style, and galley proofs are rapidly prepared. Second proofs are not sent unless required.
8. Authors should correct their galley proofs very carefully and preferably twice. An additional correction by a colleague always proves to be useful. Particular attention should be paid to chemical formulas, mathematical equations, symbols, medical nomenclature etc. Any system of correction marks can be used in a clear manner, preferably in red. Additions or clarifications are allowed provided that they improve the presentation but do not bring new results (no fee).
9. Articles submitted to AR may be rejected without review if:

• • they do not fall within the journal’s policy.
  • they do not follow the instructions for authors.
  • language is unclear.
  • results are not sufficient to support a final conclusion.
  • results are not objectively based on valid experiments.
  • they repeat results already published by the same or other authors before the submission to AR.
  • plagiarism is detected by plagiarism screening services.

[Rejection rate (2024): 72%].

10. Authors who wish to prepare a review should contact the Managing Editor of the journal in order to get confirmation of interest in the particular topic of the review. The expression of interest by the Managing Editor does not necessarily imply acceptance of the review by the journal.
11. Authors may inquire information about the status of their manuscript(s) by sending an e-mail to journals@iiar-anticancer.org
12. Authors who wish to edit a special issue on a particular topic should contact the Managing Editor.

This text is a combination of advice and suggestions contributed by Editors, Authors, Readers, and the Managing Editor of AR.

Copyright © 2025 – International Institute of Anticancer Research (G.J. Delinasios). All rights reserved (including those of translation into other languages). No part of this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher.