Editorial policies

Focus and Scope

Voprosy Onkologii is a bimonthly academic peer-review medical journal.

The target audience of the journal: researchers in experimental and clinical oncology, pediatric oncology, radiation therapy of malignant tumors, medical biotechnology, medical cytology and histology, medical genetics and medical immunology, radiology and medical radiology, nuclear medicine, oncoendocrinology, oncological statistics, specialists in screening and epidemiology of cancer, rehabilitation of cancer patients, as well as oncologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists and resuscitators, children's oncologists, radiotherapists, radiographers and radiologists, specialists of ultrasonic diagnostics, medical cytology and pathological anatomy, rehabilitation of cancer patients and epidemiologists working in the cancer registries.

The journal publish articles on general principles of carcinogenesis, the role of sensitivity to the initiating action of carcinogenic agents of one type or another in different age groups. Articles on the study of mechanisms of genetic (hereditary) transmission of cancer, research on modern immunohistochemical and other methods of diagnosis of malignant tumors are published.

Section Policies

Articles

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Peer Review Process

A single-blind peer review method is mandatory for processing of all scientific manuscripts submitted to the editorial stuff of “Voprosy Onkologii”. This implies that authors maintains no any contact with the reviewer and do not have any identification information about the reviewers for their manuscripts.

1. Articles are reviewed by the members of the editorial board and the editorial council of the journal, as well as by external reviewers from among the leading specialists in a particular field that work in scientific areas corresponding to the subject of the article and have publications on the subject of the article being reviewed within last 3 years. Scientific publications of the editor-in-chief are reviewed by external reviewers.
2. The decision on the selection of a reviewer for the examination of the article is made by the editor-in-chief, the deputy editor-in-chief, the editorial director. The review period is up to 4 weeks, but at the request of the reviewer it can be extended.
3. Each reviewer has the right to refuse reviewing if there is a clear conflict of interest affecting the perception and interpretation of the manuscript materials. Based on the review results, the reviewer gives recommendations (each decision of the reviewer is justified):
   
   • the article is recommended for publication in the existing form;
   • the article is recommended for publication after correction of the deficiencies noted by the referee;
   • the article needs additional review by another specialist;
   • the article can not be published in the journal.
4. The editorial office of the journal sends the text of the reviews to the author (without the reviewer personal info). If there are any recommendations for improvement of the manuscript, the editorial office suggests that they be taken into account when preparing a new version of the manuscript, or that they be reasonably refused (partly or completely). Improvement of the article should not take more than 2 months from sending an e-message to the authors about the need to make changes. The article finalized by the author is sent again for review.
5. If the authors refuse to improve the materials, they must, in writing or verbally, notify the editorial office of their refusal to publish the article. If the authors do not return the revised version after 3 months from the date of sending the review, even if there is no information from the authors that they refuse to improve the article, the editorial board removes it from the register. In such cases, the authors are notified of the removal of the manuscript from the registration due to expiration of the term for revision.
6. The editorial staff shall conduct no more than three rounds of review for each manuscript. If, after three improvements of the manuscript, the major reviewers or the editorial staff still have material comments, the manuscript is rejected and removed from registration. In this case, the authors are notified of the removal of the manuscript from registration. 
7. If the author and reviewers have unresolved contradictions regarding the manuscript, the editorial board is entitled to send the manuscript for additional review. In conflict situations, the decision is made by the editor-in-chief at a meeting of the editorial board.
8. The decision to refuse the publication of the manuscript is taken at a meeting of the editorial board in accordance with the recommendations of reviewers. An article not recommended by a decision of the editorial board for publication is not accepted for rereview. The notice of refusal to publication is sent to the author by e-mail, the letter contains the reviews and reasons for refusal to publish.
9. After the editorial board makes a decision on admission of the article for publication, the editorial office informs the author about it and specifies the terms of publication.
10. A positive review is not a sufficient ground for publication of the article. The final decision about publication is taken by the editorial board. In conflict situations, the decision is made by the editor-in-chief.
11. The original copies of reviews are kept in the journal editorial office indefinitely (at least 5 years).
12. Reviews of the manuscript are not available in the public domain and used only in the internal document circulation of the editorial office, as well as in communicating with authors. Copies of reviews can be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation upon request.

Publication Frequency

Tha journal issues 6 times in a year - bimonthly.

Author Self-Archiving

The journal is compliant with Green Open Access mode for articles distribution.

This journal permits and encourages authors to post items submitted to the journal on personal websites or institutional repositories both prior to and after publication, while providing bibliographic details that credit, if applicable, its publication in this journal.

Open Access

The Journal of Oncology provides full open access to all published materials from the moment the issue is published - in accordance with the international principles of Green Open Access.

The materials are in the public domain.

Indexing

The “Voprosy Onkologii” Journal is included into the “List of leading scientific journals under review, where principal data of applicants for scientific degree has to be published”, as decreed by State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles.

The journal is indexed in the following international databases and directory editions:

• SCOPUS
• Russian Science Citation Index - is a database, accumulating information on papers by Russian scientists, published in native and foreign titles. The SCIENCE INDEX project is under development since 2005 by “Electronic Scientific Library” foundation (elibrary.ru).
• Google Scholar
• Ulrich's Periodical Directory

Publishing Ethics

Reporting standarts

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial opinion works should be clearly identified as such.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Plagiarism takes many forms, from passing off another paper as the author(s) own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another(s) paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Only original works are acceptable for publication in "Voprosy Onkologii" journal. The journal does not allow any forms of plagiarism.

If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

The journal is using "ANTIPLAGIAT" (free edition) software for plagiarism detection in all Russian-language manuscripts. The Google Scholar is used for English-language manuscripts. Papers will be rejected from any stage of the publication process(even if the article were published already) if plagiarism will be fined.

Papers will be rejected from any stage of the publication process (even if the article were publishedalready) if plagiarism will be fined.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper. Publication of some kinds of articles (eg, clinical guidelines, translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication. Further detail on acceptable forms of secondary publication can be found at http://www.icmje.org/

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects

If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 and 2008. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study.

When reporting experiments on animals, authors should be asked to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the authors obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.

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The page is based on original materials from the Elsevier: http://cdn.elsevier.com/promis_misc/ethicalguidelinesforauthors.pdf

Publication Fee

Publication in "Voprosy Onkologii" journal is free for all authors.

The "Voprosy Onkologii" journal charge no publication fees for authors - including those of peer-review management, manuscript processing, journal production, Open-Access, online hosting and archiving.