Cancer Biology & Therapy Celebrates Five Years of Publication

Abstract

On the completion of our fifth year of publication it is a good time to reflect on the progress and direction of this journal, and to celebrate its success. This has been an exciting time and it went by very quickly.

At the time we conceived and started Cancer Biology and Therapy there were far fewer print and online journals in the expanding cancer research field and there was clearly a need that was rapidly and simultaneously filled by several new journals. This journal attempted to define itself as interested in both basic and translational research, in addressing not only the biology of cancer but also its molecular therapy. In addition to classical areas we quickly developed sections in molecular imaging, animal models and aspects of the tumor microenvironment including angiogenesis, hypoxia and stem cells. We included a section called Bedside-to-Bench reports and over the past few years we have included Clinical Case Reports and Clinical Trials. From the start we developed a section called Research Philosophy that has included the interesting Profiles and Legacies of distinguished scientists and colleagues, as well as other philosophical discourse. We have invited Commentaries to include further discussion of selected manuscripts in the context of the ‘big picture’. About two years ago we adopted a new online submission and review system that has helped the journal through a period of incredible growth in terms of submissions. We also started a section called Journal Club and another called News, and have been including announcements of meetings of interest to the readers on the main web page of the journal.

In 2007, we are introducing a new feature, BrainTrusters, a web-based platform to predict the outcome of cancer clinical drug trials that is based on the concept, described in Nature [Nov. 17, 2005], that aggregate wisdom is superior to the wisdom of individual experts. A journal of translational medicine is, at the end of the day, a journal of applied science. The community of cancer researchers share this goal: the development of effective new therapies. BrainTrusters is an innovative prediction market that bridges the gap between the laboratory research and drug commercialization.

This journal has been successful because of its outstanding Editorial Board members who have given of their time to efficiently review and comment on manuscripts. Their ongoing efforts and those of the dedicated reviewers are continuing to raise the bar to improve the quality of accepted manuscripts. A journal such as Cancer Biology and Therapy serves the scientific community well by attracting and publishing consistently outstanding content. We were indexed in PubMed in record time and received an impact factor putting us in the top 10% of all published journals.

Cancer Biology and Therapy provides free open access to its contents one year after publication and immediately upon publication for a very modest fee. In addition, the journal is freely available to scientists in the Developing World, essentially open access, through a program sponsored by the World Health Organization. Scientists in Nairobi, Jakarta and Lima, for example, can read articles online and/or print them for students and colleagues at no charge.

I am extremely proud of the remarkable success of this journal that did not at the start have a famous publisher, or benefit from the support of an established scientific or professional society. This journal has made its mark through the grass-roots support of many individual scientists in whose hands it remains. The ever-increasing interest and rate of manuscript submission from all over the world is a great testament to the confidence our colleagues have in how their manuscripts will be handled by Cancer Biology and Therapy. In fact, in 2006, we received well over 400 original manuscript submissions, in addition to invited or unsolicited reviews or commentaries. The journal has been publishing novel findings from laboratories throughout the world, making it a truly international journal.

One of the important policies of Cancer Biology and Therapy is that we listen to both reviewers and authors and are sensitive to the issues that plague the review process and the progress of science often limiting rapid publication of research findings. This sensitivity comes from the fact that like few other journals these days, the decision-makers are themselves scientists in the trenches making discoveries and dealing with the realities of funding for research and the daily running of research labs. There is of course a fine balance between maintaining scientific rigor, always improving our own work and the element of time and the constraints of funding. Important advances need to be published and shared with the world. In the end there will be more progress, not less, if investigators in the field can more rapidly learn of and benefit from existing results and conclusions.

Where would we like to be five years from now? I think this journal will continue to grow and succeed because of the principles upon which it was founded. We would like to continue what we are doing and strive to do it even better as we select ever more competitive manuscripts for publication. The quality of the reviews has been outstanding with the help of the online system and the authors have in the vast majority benefited whether their paper was ultimately accepted or not by the journal. For some time authors have been excited and grateful when their papers received fair, competent, and rapid reviews and their work improved and was accepted by Cancer Biology and Therapy. This is very important for a journal that strives to be a top-tier publication. This is the simple goal of this journal. I remain dedicated to working with the authors, reviewers, Associate Editors, Editorial Board members and great publisher and professional staff of this journal to provide the readers with an even more outstanding publication.