Oncoimmunology Research (this journal) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to advancing innovative research across all aspects of science and surgery in this field. The journal is committed to publishing high-quality research that addresses fundamental discoveries, clinical evidence, and translational breakthroughs that enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.
Authors are advised to follow the instructions in these Author Guidelines to ensure that their manuscript is processed efficiently and adheres to the journal's scope, which spans fundamental, clinical, and translational science of this field.
The journal accepts the following categories:
● Research Articles: Full-length reports of original research that present a complete body of work with significant novel findings of broad interest to cancer researchers and oncologists. Research Articles should provide substantial mechanistic insights into cancer biology, immunology, metabolism, signal transduction, therapeutic development, chemical biology, translational research, or computational/AI-driven approaches.
● Brief Report / Short Communication: Concise studies of high quality and broad interest that report preliminary but striking findings, novel methodologies, or early clinical observations. These are typically shorter than Research Articles but must still meet rigorous scientific standards.
● Clinical Trial Report: Reports of clinical trials across all phases, including first-in-human, phase I, II, III, and randomized controlled trials, spanning solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Studies must be prospectively registered in a public trials registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov).
● Real-world / Observational Study: Studies using real-world data, registry data, electronic health records, or observational cohorts to address clinically relevant questions in cancer diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, or outcomes.
● Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Comprehensive, methodologically rigorous syntheses of existing literature, including quantitative meta-analysis where appropriate. Authors must adhere to PRISMA reporting guidelines and are encouraged to pre-register protocols in public registries (e.g., PROSPERO, Open Science Framework).
● Reviews and Mini-Reviews: Authoritative, comprehensive overviews of timely subjects relevant to the journal's scope. (Reviews are typically invited by the Editors, but unsolicited proposals are considered upon presubmission inquiry.)
● Perspective: Article types that provide a personal viewpoint on timely and relevant topics in cancer research. Perspectives may be more speculative than Reviews but should remain balanced and grounded in evidence.
● Resource: Reports of large datasets, tools, databases, or methodologies of broad utility and significance to the cancer research community. Resources should present validated, fully accessible datasets or tools that enable new discoveries.
● Letters to the Edito and Correspondence: Brief comments on articles recently published in the journal, or on topical issues relevant to the journal's scope. Letter to the Editor do not present original research data.
The title page should include:
● Full title: The title should be clear, concise, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.
● Running title: ≤ 50 characters.
● Authors’ full names: Include all authors and their institutional affiliations in the order of contribution.
● Institutional affiliations: Include department names, institutions, cities, and countries.
● Corresponding author: Name, full address (including postal code), email address, and ORCID iD (recommended).
● Funding information: If applicable, include the names of funding sources and grant numbers.
For Research Article, Brief Reports / Short Communication, Clinical Trial Reports, Real-world / Observational Studies, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, Reviews and Mini-Reviews, the abstract must follow the structure and word count guidelines outlined below:
● Research Article, Real-world / Observational Study: (Structured Abstract ≤ 300 words)
Should include the following sections:
○ Background
○ Materials and Methods
○ Results (if applicable)
○ Discussion (if applicable)
○ Conclusion
● Brief Reports / Short Communication: (Structured Abstract ≤ 300 words)
Should include the following sections:
○ Introduction
○ Results
○ Discussion
○ Conclusion
●Clinical Trial Report: (Structured Abstract ≤ 300 words)
Should include the following sections:
○ Introduction
○Presentation (if applicable)
○ Results
○ Discussion
○ Conclusion
● Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Review and Mini-Review: (Unstructured Abstract ≤ 300 words)
Should provide a concise overview of:
○ Scope and purpose of the review
○ Major themes or topics covered
○ Key recent advances or updates in the field
○ Overall conclusions and implications for future research or clinical practice
An unstructured abstract is preferred for review articles.
For Research Article, Brief Reports / Short Communication, Clinical Trial Reports, Real-world / Observational Studies, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, Reviews and Mini-Reviews:
● Provide 3-8 keywords.
● MeSH terms (Medical Subject Headings) are recommended where applicable to improve indexing and discoverability.
● Use singular noun forms and avoid overly broad or overly specific phrases.
Research Article, Brief Reports / Short Communication, Clinical Trial Reports, Real-world / Observational Studies, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, Reviews and Mini-Reviews: If applicable, include Funding Information in this section. This should specify the source of any financial support received for the work presented in the article.
● For research article, the funding details should be provided, including the name of the funding body, grant numbers, and the role of the funders (if applicable).
● For review and protocol, include funding details if the review or protocol was developed as part of a funded project.
● For case report, if the case is part of a funded clinical study or initiative, funding details should be included.
● If no external funding was received, state: This research received no external funding.
URLs are not allowed to appear in main text.
Article Type | Description | Word Limit | Figures and/or tables Limit | References |
Research Article | Full-length reports of original research that present a complete body of work with significant novel findings of broad interest to cancer researchers and oncologists. Research Articles should provide substantial mechanisticinsights into cancer biology, immunology, metabolism, signaltransduction, therapeutic development, chemical biology, translational research, or computational/AI-driven approaches. | 5,000–6,000 | 8 | 60 |
Brief Report / Short Communication | Concise studies of high quality and broad interest that report preliminary but striking findings, novel methodologies, or early clinical observations. These are typically shorter than Research Articles but must still meet rigorous scientific standards. | 2,000–3,500 | 4 | 30 |
Clinical Trial Report | Reports of clinical trials across all phases, including first-in-human, phase I, II, III, and randomized controlled trials, spanning solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Studies must be prospectively registered in a public trials registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov). | 4,000 | 6 | - |
Real-world / Observational Study | Studies using real-world data, registry data, electronic health records, or observational cohorts to address clinically relevant questions in cancer diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, or outcomes. | 6,000 | 5 | - |
Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | Comprehensive, methodologically rigorous syntheses of existing literature, including quantitative meta-analysis where appropriate. Authors must adhere to PRISMA reporting guidelines and are encouraged to pre-register protocols in public registries (e.g., PROSPERO, Open Science Framework). | 6,000 | 6 | 100 |
Reviews and Mini-Reviews | Authoritative, comprehensive overviews of timely subjects relevant to the journal's scope. (Reviews are typically invited by the Editors, but unsolicited proposals are considered upon presubmission inquiry.) | 7,000 | 3 | - |
Perspective | Article types that provide a personal viewpoint on timely and relevant topics in cancer research. Perspectives may be more speculative than Reviews but should remain balanced and grounded in evidence. | 1,500–3,000 | - | - |
Resource | Reports of large datasets, tools, databases, or methodologies of broad utility and significance to the cancer research community. Resources should present validated, fully accessible datasets or tools that enable new discoveries. | 3,000 | 6 | - |
Letter to the Editor and Correspondence | Brief comments on articles recently published in the journal, or on topical issues relevant to the journal's scope. Letter to the Editor do not present original research data. | 1,000 | 1 | 10 |
● Research Article, Real-world / Observational Study
Manuscripts should be organized into the following sections:
○ Introduction: Provide the scientific background, rationale, and primary objectives of the study.
○ Materials and Methods: Describe the study design, participants or specimens, procedures, interventions, outcome measures, and statistical analysis in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility.
○ Results: Present key findings in a clear and logical sequence, supported by tables and figures where appropriate.
○ Discussion: Interpret major findings, compare them with existing literature, clarify strengths and limitations, and explain their scientific or clinical significance.
○ Conclusion: Summarize the main conclusions and implications of the study.
● Brief Report / Short Communication, Clinical Trial Report
Manuscripts should include the following sections:
○ Introduction
○ Methods
○ Results
○ Discussion
○ Conclusion
● Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Review and Mini-Review
Reviews may use flexible, unstructured sectioning. Suggested structure:
○ Introduction
○ Main body with thematic subsections
○ Conclusion
○ Future direction (optional)
Authors should ensure the review is comprehensive, balanced, and appropriately referenced.
● Perspective, Resource
Should be concise and focused.
○ No section numbering is required.
○ The content may include expert opinion, context for current developments, or discussion of emerging issues in the field.
● Citation Style: AMA (American Medical Association) style.
● References should be numbered in the order they appear in the text and listed accordingly.
● Excessive self-citations should be avoided.
● The number of references is restricted. Please refer to the Temple document. (see For Authors-Manuscript Preparation)
● Resolution: Figures should be ≥ 300 dpi (JPEG/PNG), ≥ 600 dpi (line art).
● Titles and Legends: Figures and tables must have descriptive titles and legends. The first word and proper nouns should be capitalized.
● Editable files for figures and tables must be provided.
● URLs are not allowed to appear in figures or tables.
● Permissions: Obtain permission for previously published material. Include the necessary documents from the copyright holder.
● Include datasets, additional figures, video files, extended tables, or source code. Supplementary materials will be published online as submitted.
● Language: English.
● File format: Microsoft Word.
● Font: Arial or Times New Roman, 11–12 pt.
● Line spacing: Double-spaced.
● Margins: 2.5 cm (1 inch).
● Page and line numbering: All pages and lines should be numbered.
● Units: Use the International System of Units (SI) exclusively.
Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/), and authors must provide a statement of ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) approval and informed consent statements.
● Animal research must adhere to national or institutional guidelines, and ethics approval must be provided.
● For cell line studies, authors should provide authentication and mycoplasma contamination testing statements where appropriate.
● Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. A Conflict of Interest statement should be included in the manuscript.
● Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate image manipulation, and duplicate publication are strictly prohibited. Any suspected misconduct will be handled according to COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts).
An inherent principle of publication is that others should be able to replicate and build upon the authors' published claims. Authors must include a Data Availability Statement (DAS):
● Data available in public repositories (e.g., Dryad, Figshare, Zenodo) is highly encouraged.
○ For computational and artificial intelligence studies, authors are encouraged to provide open access to code, algorithms, and models (e.g., via GitHub, Zenodo, or other permanent repositories) to enable reproducibility, with relevant versioning and documentation.
○ For studies involving chemical compounds, authors are encouraged to provide detailed characterization data (e.g., NMR, mass spectrometry) and, where applicable, deposition of structural data in appropriate databases (e.g., Protein Data Bank).
● Data available from authors upon reasonable request.
● Data cannot be shared due to privacy or ethical restrictions, with reasons stated.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by authors must comply with principles of transparency, accountability, and scientific integrity. AI tools may be used for limited purposes—such as language polishing or formatting support—provided that such use does not compromise data confidentiality, authorship integrity, or the originality of the work.
● NOT permitted: The use of AI tools for data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, or the undisclosed generation of scientific content. Such practices constitute a breach of publication ethics.
● AI tools must not be listed as authors, and authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, and conclusions of the manuscript.
● Any use of AI tools that materially assisted in manuscript preparation must be clearly disclosed in “AI statement” of the manuscript. If generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were used during manuscript preparation, authors are recommended to provide the following information in the “AI statement”:
○ Name of the AI tool(s) used
○ Version number and service modality (e.g., locally deployed system or online/cloud-based service)
○ Date(s) of use
○ Specific stage(s) of use (e.g., language editing, outline drafting, reference formatting)
○ Purpose of use
○ Name or role of the individual responsible for human verification and oversight.
Failure to provide accurate disclosure may result in editorial action in accordance with journal policies and publication ethics guidelines.
Authors should follow the appropriate reporting guidelines based on the study type:
● CONSORT for clinical trials (https://www.consort-statement.org/)
● PRISMA for systematic reviews (http://www.prisma-statement.org/)
● STROBE for observational studies (https://www.strobe-statement.org/)
● ARRIVE for animal experiments (https://arriveguidelines.org/)
● CARE for case reports (https://www.care-statement.org/)
● CHEERS for health economics studies (https://www.cheers-statement.org/)
● STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies (http://www.stard-statement.org/)
● ARRIVE for preclinical animal studies (https://arriveguidelines.org/)
● SITC for tumor immunology studies (https://www.sitcancer.org/)
For bioinformatics and AI studies, authors should provide sufficient details to enable reproducibility, including software versions, parameter settings, and validation strategies.
● Manuscripts posted on non-peer-reviewed preprint servers (e.g., bioRxiv, medRxiv, arXiv, HEP Preprint) are accepted.
● Authors must disclose preprint details (DOI/URL) during submission.
● Authorship must meet ICMJE criteria (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html):
○ Substantial contribution to conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
○ Drafting or revising the manuscript.
○ Final approval of the version to be published.
○ Accountability for all aspects of the work.
Changes to authorship require written approval from all authors.
● Copyright: Authors retain copyright of their work.
● Licensing: Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
● Article Processing Charges (APCs): The journal charges an APC upon manuscript acceptance. Waivers or discounts are available for authors from low-income countries or those facing financial hardship.
● Manuscripts must be written in grammatically correct English.
● Authors requiring language support may use professional editing services before submission.
Before submitting, ensure that:
● The manuscript follows the required structure.
● The title page is complete.
● All authors meet the authorship criteria.
● IRB approval and consent statements are included.
● Figures and tables have correct resolution.
● References are formatted according to AMA style.
● A Data Availability Statement is included.
● COI (Conflict of Interest) forms are completed.
● Reporting guideline checklists are uploaded. (see 8. Reporting Guidelines)
● The manuscript is checked for plagiarism.