Categories of Articles
Cancer Discovery welcomes submission of the following article types to be considered for publication in the journal, subject to peer review as noted below for each type. Please see About Cancer Discovery for information about the journal, and Instructions for Authors for important policies and instructions relevant to all authors submitting to an AACR journal. Where applicable, the journal’s editorial team reserves the right to edit the title, abstract, and any article summary statement to improve the article's clarity, brevity, and quality prior to publication.
Please note: The article size recommendations below, and most formatting requirements for final publication, are not enforced for initial submissions and do not impact the manuscript’s assessment for potential publication. Word counts are exclusive of cover page, abstract, methods section, tables, and references.
Research Articles
Research Articles report on original studies with broad impact across the fields of basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiologic cancer research as well as cancer prevention research. These articles should be of exceptional significance to a diverse audience of cancer researchers and scientists.
- 150-word abstract
- 50-word statement of significance
- 6,000 words of text
- 50 references
- 7 figures and/or tables total (no panel limit; each figure or table must fit on a single printed page)
- Sections should be arranged in the following order: title page, abstract, statement of significance, introduction, results, discussion, methods, references, tables, table legends, figure legends, and figures
- Results and Discussion sections must not be combined
Research Briefs
Research Briefs may report on early clinical data or discovery-based studies that are not sufficiently developed for publication as Research Articles but have the potential to make a significant impact on research areas and/or patient care.
- 150-word abstract
- 50-word statement of significance
- 3,500 words of text
- 25 references
- 4 figures and/or tables total (no panel limit; each figure or table must fit on a single printed page)
- Sections should be arranged in the following order: title page, abstract, statement of significance, introduction, results, discussion, methods, references, tables, table legends, figure legends, and figures
- Results and Discussion sections must not be combined
Reviews
Review Articles provide authoritative, comprehensive overviews of timely subjects geared toward the general cancer research community. These articles should include the author's point of view on how the subject relates to the current state of the field and how it could affect research and/or patient care.
- 100 word abstract
- three-to four-sentence statement of significance
- 7,000 words of text
- 75 references
- 6 figures and/or tables total (no panel limit; each figure or table must fit on a single printed page)
Mini Reviews
Mini Reviews are authoritative, comprehensive overviews on timely subjects. Subjects covered in Mini Reviews are narrower, either in scope or depth, than those covered in full-length Review Articles and include the author's perspective on how the subject relates to the current state of the field and how it could impact research/treatment.
- 100-word abstract
- one-to two-sentence statement of significance
- 4,000 words of text
- 50 references
- 3 figures and/or tables total (no panel limit; each figure or table must fit on a single printed page)
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor express views related to published articles that do not in themselves constitute original research. Letters to the Editor must focus on and refer to an article published in Cancer Discovery within the previous 3 months. If found to meet the journal's publication criteria (i.e., if it comprises scholarly commentary on a subject of importance and interest to a broad readership), the Letter may be sent to various pertinent parties, including the author(s) of the cited article and possibly to other interested experts in the field, in order to grant them the opportunity to respond. Any such response would be vetted similarly and published in the same issue of the journal as the Letter.
- The title should read as “‘Running title of the original article’ — Letter”; please note that the Editors-in-Chief reserve the right to modify the title
- 500 words of text
- 5 references; the first reference must cite the originating article
- Figures or tables are permitted only if they show data that refute the conclusions of the originating article; figures or tables featuring unpublished data in support of the conclusions of the originating article will not be considered
