Submissions

Author Guidelines

When preparing a manuscript for submission to the editorial team of the journal «Voprosy Onkologii», authors should adhere to the following guidelines, in accordance with the requirements of the principles and rules of international organizations, such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and their Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

Additionally, authors are encouraged to consider international recommendations, such as those provided by the EQUATOR  - Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research network, when preparing their manuscript for publication. The following table outlines the recommended guidelines for various types of studies:

• Systematic reviews: PRISMA and extensions
• Randomized and Non-Randomized Prospective Controlled Trials: CONSORTand extensions
• Observational Studies: STROBEand extensions
• Studies of Diagnostic or Screening Methods: STARD
• Studies of Diagnostic or Prognostic Models: TRIPOD
• Clinical and Economic Studies: CHEERS
• Clinical trial protocols for interventions involving artificial intelligence: SPIRIT-AI
• Preclinical Studies: ARRIVE
• Clinical Case Reports: CARE, extensions

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. Originality. The journal only accepts original manuscripts that have not been previously published and do not violate the copyright of others. Submissions of translations of articles (in whole or in part) that have been published in other languages will not be considered. If the editorial team discovers identical texts by the same author in other printed or electronic publications, the contract will be terminated and the article will be withdrawn from publication. All manuscripts are thoroughly checked for plagiarism. Borrowings without giving proper citation for a source are not allowed. However, unquoted borrowings of parts of a thesis written by one of the authors are allowed as an exception. Borrowing from abstracts previously published by one of the authors is permitted, as long as the source of the borrowing is indicated and properly referenced.

1.2. Manuscripts submitted for publication should be clearly structured, relevant to the journal's scope, scientifically novel, contain a statement of the problem(s) being addressed, describe the methodology and main results of the research, include conclusions. The authors are fully responsible for the scientific and theoretical content of the articles they publish.

1.3. Manuscripts must adhere to the basic formatting principles outlined in these Guidelines.

1.4. Peer Review. All scientific articles submitted to the journal undergo peer review. Peer review is an essential component of formal scientific communication that allows the editorial board and editor-in-chief to make a decision about the publication of an article and to help the author improve the quality of their work. The journal "Voprosy Onkologii" uses a double-blind peer review system, which ensures the anonymity of the authors and reviewers (this implies that neither the reviewer is aware of the authorship of the manuscript, nor the author maintains any contact with the reviewer). The editorial team of the journal encourages all reviewers to follow the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1.5. Article Submission. The editorial team accepts manuscript submissions through the journal's online submission system. To submit, authors should create an account on the journal's website. The information provided during registration will only be used for technical purposes, such as contacting authors or reviewers (editors), and will not be disclosed to third parties except in cases explicitly outlined in these Guidelines. When submitting your article, the author should provide all of the information required by the system.

1.6. We accept submissions for the following types of articles: (follow the link for templates). Please submit the main text of your article in *.doc, *.docx, *.rtf, or *.odt format.  Use the appropriate template corresponding to the type of article you are submitting.

1.7. The editorial team reserves the right to edit and select material for publication. The final version of the article should be reviewed and approved by the author.

1.8. Scientific articles that do not follow these Guidelines and do not use the provided templates will not be considered for publication and will not undergo peer-review.

2. MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS

2.1. Overall Word Count: The full manuscript, including abstracts, lectures, reviews, and clinical study protocols, should not exceed 6,000 words. Original Research Articles: Limited to 4,000 words. Clinical Case Reports: Limited to 2,000 words.

2.2. References: The reference list is not included in the total length of the article. For original articles, it is advisable to cite no more than 25 sources, while literature reviews should have 40-60 citations, and lectures and other materials should be limited to 15 citations.

2.3. Language: We welcome manuscripts from all countries, as long as they are written in Russian. However, all article metadata, including author names, article title, institutional affiliations (translated to English), abstract, and keywords, must be provided in English. The editorial team reserves the right to return the article for revision if the English metadata is missing, poorly translated, or incomprehensible. Authors may submit a full translation of the article in a foreign language alongside the original Russian version. In this case, the translated metadata of the article in Russian is not required.

2.4. Authorship: the journal follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines for authorship. Under these guidelines, authors should have made substantial contributions to conception and design of the work, revision or correction, final approval for publication, and who are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript.

Individuals who participated in the preparation of the article in other ways (statisticians, linguists, technical staff, etc.) can be listed in the Acknowledgments section of the article in both Russian and English.

For Clinical Case submissions, we recommend limiting the number of authors to four.

2.5. Authors’ Contribution: The authors' contribution to the article should be indicated in both Russian and English. The author guarantees that all authors have approved the final version of the article before publication, agreed to assume responsibility for all aspects of the work, implying proper review and resolution of issues related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.

2.6. Upon submission of the article it is necessary to provide ORCID identifier, eLibrary SPIN-code, Researcher ID (WOS), Author ID (Scopus) for the author and all co-authors of the publication.

2.7. Copyright:The author guarantees that they hold the exclusive copyright to the article submitted to the editorial team and bear full material and legal responsibility for the accuracy of its content.

2.8. Page Layout, Font, and Format:

• Paper Size: A4;
• Font: Times New Roman;
• Font Size: 14;
• Paragraph Indent: 1.25 cm;
• Line Spacing: 1.5;
• Footnotes:
  • Located at the bottom of each page;
  • Numbered consecutively;
• Margins:
  • Top and bottom: 2.5 cm;
  • Left: 3.5 cm;
  • Right: 1.5 cm;
• Units of Measurement: SI units must be used;
• Abbreviations:
  • Avoid using non-standard abbreviations;
  • Spell out all abbreviations (except for common ones) the first time they are used.
  • Use the abbreviation only after it has been defined.
  • Spell out rare or specialized terms the first time they are used.
• Text Emphasis: Use italics or boldface to emphasize text. Do not underline text.
• Whitespace: Remove all extra spaces and line breaks from the text. Use the Microsoft Word "Find and Replace" feature to do this automatically.
• Placeholders: Text between the "~~" symbols in the templates is placeholder text. This text explains what information needs to be inserted into the article in the specified format.
• Prior to submission, ensure that all information between these symbols (including the symbols themselves) has been replaced with the required text. Use the Microsoft Word "Find and Replace" feature with the "Wildcards" option to remove any remaining placeholder text.

2.9. File Content: The article files uploaded to the manuscript submission form should contain all the information for publication.

2.10. Description of medicinal products. When describing medicinal products, the active substance or (if available) the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) should be indicated. All names and dosages should be carefully checked. It is not recommended to use a brand name of drugs.

2.11. The description of post-registration clinical trials of medicinal products, foodstuffs, dietary supplements, and care products must include information on their registration and authorization for use by licensing authorities, including the registration number and date of registration.

2.12. Visual elements. Limit: A maximum of 6 illustrations (tables and figures) are allowed per article. This can be a combination of tables and figures, such as 3 tables and 3 figures, or 4 figures and 2 tables. Total Size: The total size of all illustrations must not exceed 1.5 journal pages. Exceptions: Articles in the fields of statistics (epidemiology), radiology, and pathology may include more illustrations upon agreement with the editorial team. Authors should include the minimum number of necessary illustrations in the form of tables and figures. The editorial team reserves the right to reduce the number of illustrations in an article.

2.13. Location: The author should indicate the location of the visual element in the article by inserting a reference to the table or figure (e.g., "Table 2" or "Figure 3").

2.14. Numbering: The visual elements should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text and should be formatted in italics (e.g., "Figure 1," "Figure 2," etc., "Table 1," "Table 2," etc.). Tables and figures should be numbered separately.

2.15. Tables should contain only the necessary information sufficient for understanding the table without additional explanations. Tables should present summarized and statistically processed data, be easy to read and understand, and have a title and units of measurement for each indicator. The presence or absence of statistically significant differences in the data should be indicated. The table caption (title) should be placed above the table in the text of the article and is included in the word count of the article. Table titles should be included in the text of the article before the table and should be counted in the total word count of the article. The table number should be followed by the table title. For example: "Table 1. Characteristics of Patients." Tables should be placed in the text of the article directly after their titles. Hanging indents should not be used in tables.If a table continues onto another page, the table header should be repeated on the new page (by setting the appropriate row properties in the "Table Properties" menu). Minimal notes that help to understand the table may be included below the table.

2.16. Figures, Diagrams, and Charts: All axes of figures, diagrams, and charts must be labeled with units of measurement in accordance with the International System of Units (SI). Legends should be placed outside of the figure. Captions should be placed directly after the figure they refer to. Captions should contain enough information to understand the figure without referring to the text of the article. The caption should be formatted as follows:

Figure ~Ordinal number of figure~. ~Title of figure in Russian and English~. ~ Description of figure in Russian and English~.

• Figure captions are included in the total word count of the article.
• Visual elements (including photographs) should be submitted in electronic format only, in one of the following formats: *.pdf, *.tiff, *.jpeg, *.eps. The resolution must be at least 300 dpi, and the width must be at least 92 mm. Each figure should be submitted as a separate file. The file name should be formatted as follows:

~Brief description of the article~ – fig.~figure number~

2.17. If a translation into English of the full article is submitted to the editorial board, it is not required to include English captions and table names in the Russian version of the publication.

If a full translation of the article is submitted to the editorial team, English captions and table titles are not required.

3. STRUCTURE OF THE MANUSCRIPT

3.1. The original article should be structured as follows:

• Surnames of the authors, article title, institutions, abstract, and keywords in Russian;
• Surnames of the authors, article title, institutions, abstract, and keywords in English.
• The article must include the following mandatory sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.

3.2. The names of the abstract and article sections cannot be changed. Subsections can be included within the main sections, with the exception of reviews and short reports where sections are defined by the authors.

• Article Sections: The required sections of an article vary depending on the type of publication. Additional requirements for each type of article, along with international recommendations for formatting, are provided in the templates. In all templates, text highlighted with "~~" symbols explains the information that needs to be entered in its place and the rules for formatting the section (highlighted in blue). This text should be replaced with the actual data for the article or deleted.

3.3. The title page (template) which is submitted as a separate file, shall include the following information:

• The type of the article (template);
• The title of the article;
  • To increase citation counts, it is recommended to avoid geographic names in the title;
  • Whenever possible it is recommended to state the main results of the article in the title, e.g.: Drug X Increases Survival in Patients with ~Malignant Tumors~: study results ~title of the study~;

• Ordinal number of each author in the authors list;
• Surname, first initials, academic degree, title, and position of each author;
• Full name (without abbreviations) of the organization where each author works, written in the nominative case, followed by the legal form (abbreviation preceding the name) and departmental affiliation;
• Physical mailing address (including postal code and country name), e-mail address, business phone number (with area code), and mobile phone number (for quick contact with the author only, it will not be included in the published version of the manuscript or given to third parties);
• Contact information of the corresponding author (for correspondence): full name, email address (this information will be publicly available when the article is published), and mobile phone number for communication (will not be included in the published version of the manuscript or given to third parties);
• ORCID identifier and eLibrary SPIN-code, if any - Researcher ID (WOS), Author ID (Scopus) ;
• Information on each author's contribution to the publication;
• Signature of the author;
• The title of the article, the authors' surnames and first names and patronymic initials (N.P.) (in the format "~ Last Name~"), The authors' affiliations should be listed in the first few lines of the main text file of the article. If all authors work at the same institution, it is not necessary to list each author's affiliation separately. Instead, indicating the institution once is sufficient.
• If an author works at more than one place, each place should be given a separate number in the main body of the article.
• If there is more than one author, each surname and corresponding institution should be assigned a numerical code.

3.4. Abstract. The abstract should not exceed 250-300 words. It is important to remember that the abstract is often the only and most read section of the article, and it should contain the main information presented in the article in a concentrated form. Additional requirements for each type of article, along with international recommendations for formatting, are provided in the templates, which are available at the following link.

3.5. Introduction. Explain the problem that requires research. Provide a complete description of the research goals and objectives. Give brief explanations about the design features of the research.

3.6. Materials and Methods. The requirements for each type of article, along with international recommendations for formatting, are provided in the templates. The Materials and Methods section of an original research article in the Clinical Research section should include:

• Main inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study;
• Main interventions that took place in the study;
• Research plan;
• Methods of patient allocation to the groups that were analysed;
• If randomization was used, the randomization method must be specified;
• Characteristics of patients in each of the analyzed groups (characteristics are given to confirm the comparability of the compared groups in terms of the main indicators that are important for a specific clinical situation);
• Brief listing of standard methods used in the work, with appropriate references;
• Detailed listing of non-standard methods that are important for the research results;
• Listing of all outcomes that were analysed;
• Listing of all variables that were analysed;
• Methods for handling biases;
• Methods of mathematical analysis and methods used to reflect the effect (e.g., relative risk, odds ratio, effect size, frequency, etc.);
• Data processing methods used for analysis;
• In the case of serial publication or a previously published research design, it is necessary to refer to previous publications on this research;
• Registration of a clinical trial (e.g., Registry of Approved Clinical Trials, gov, etc.);
• Calculation of the estimated power of the study for one or more endpoints, plan for interim analyzes.

3.6.1. Statistical Analysis. The study design and statistical analysis of the data should be clearly indicated in the "Materials and Methods" section. The requirements for each type of article with an indication of international recommendations for the design of articles of each particular type are provided in the templates. The main principles for describing statistical methods and results are set forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and are described in more detail in the following article: Basic Statistical Reporting for Articles Published in Biomedical Journals: The “Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature” or The SAMPL Guidelines by Thomas A. Lang and Douglas G. Altman.

3.6.1.1. It is recommended to use the international EQUATOR  - Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research standards when describing research:

• Systematic reviews: PRISMA and extensions
• Randomized and Non-Randomized Prospective Controlled Trials: CONSORTand extensions
• Observational Studies: STROBEand extensions
• Studies of Diagnostic or Screening Methods: STARD
• Studies of Diagnostic or Prognostic Models: TRIPOD
• Clinical and Economic Studies: CHEERS
• Clinical trial protocols for interventions involving artificial intelligence: SPIRIT-AI
• Preclinical Studies: ARRIVE

3.6.1.2. Statistical Methods. Specify the statistical software package(s) and versions used. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Describe the statistical methods in sufficient detail to allow a competent reader with access to the original data to judge their validity. Use standard methods. If it is necessary to use new methods, be sure to include a reference or a detailed description in the supplementary materials. For studies with complex designs, it is recommended to involve a professional statistician in the research.

3.6.1.3. Present the results in sufficient detail so that they can be included in a secondary analysis. The level of significance (p) is not enough; it is necessary to specify descriptive statistics (usually this is a 95% confidence interval).

3.6.1.4. Mathematical Formulas. Mathematical equations should be presented as editable text (not as figures) and numbered in order. Variables should be indicated in italics.

3.6.1.5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology. If AI was used for data collection and analysis, authors should describe this in detail in the “Materials and Methods” section: the name of the language model or tool, version and extension number, cues, and manufacturer.

3.7. Results. The main data characterizing the research results should be presented.

3.7.1. The results should be presented in accordance with the aim of the research. They should include data that corresponds to one or more of the research objectives. The description of the results should be sufficient to support the subsequent conclusions.

3.7.2. Additional Data may be presented in the form of appendices.

3.7.3. Tables and Figures can be used to describe the results. When presenting results, it is not recommended to include in the text data that is presented in tables and figures.

3.7.4. The manuscript may be accompanied by a glossary of terms (unclear terms that may cause difficulties for the reader to understand). In addition to generally accepted abbreviations of units of measurement, physical, chemical and mathematical quantities and terms (e.g., DNA), abbreviations of phrases that are often repeated in the text are allowed. All letter designations and abbreviations introduced by the author must be deciphered in the text when they are first mentioned. Abbreviations of simple words are not allowed, even if they are repeated often.

3.8. Discussion. The results are analyzed in the context of existing knowledge in the field and compared with the results of other studies and analyzes.

3.8.1. Limitations of the Study. The limitations of the study both related to the research design and to the analysis methodology must be discussed.

3.8.2. The author should interpret the obtained results in accordance with previously known information and present their arguments regarding the conclusion made in case of coincidence or mismatch of the research result.

3.8.3. It is not recommended to use the expression "for the first time it was ...", since this statement must be confirmed. In the absence of publications on the topic, it is advisable to indicate this, indicating the method of searching for publications and information resources where the search was carried out, indicating the date of the search.

3.8.4. The discussion may consider both the clinical aspects of the obtained result (for example, comparison with other studies) and give a biological explanation for some of the described phenomena (for example, unexpected results of multivariate analysis that identify a previously undescribed prognostic factor).

3.8.5. Conclusion. It is recommended to summarize the presented information and sum up the presentation in the conclusion. It is recommended to limit yourself to three to five main theses that summarize the most significant considerations that the author wanted to convey to the reader.

3.9. The following general sections come after the text of the article:

• Acknowledgments (optional). This section allows authors to express their gratitude for contributions made to the research. E.g.: “The authors express their gratitude to A.O. Sidorov for his help in collecting data on the histological findings, which were used in the article.” Since the expression of gratitude may imply approval by the mentioned persons of the results and conclusions of the study, the corresponding author, when sending the article to the editor, must provide a scan of the written permission from all mentioned persons to express gratitude (indicating the names of the article and the journal). This section is optional. If no acknowledgments are made, the section should be removed. 
• Conflict of Interest (mandatory). This section requires authors to declare any conflicts of interest or state that no conflicts exist. E.g.: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
• Compliance with patient rights and principles of bioethics (mandatory). The journal publishes only the results of those studies that were conducted in compliance with the norms of biomedical ethics and the standards of the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 of the World Medical Association (WMA) (2013) and GCP (Good Clinical Practice) standards.

For clinical trials (original article), authors must confirm that: All procedures involving patients were conducted in accordance with the 2013 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by an ethics committee (including the name of the organization, protocol number, and date of the committee meeting). All patients signed informed consent to participate in the study.

If personal data of an individual is used, including depersonalized images of an individual, including parts of his/her body, author(s) must obtain consent from the individuals or their legal representatives. The consent should include entitlement to share the personal data and images with the editors of “Voprosy Onkologii” for the purpose of their use in accordance with the present Guidelines.

For experimental studies (original article), authors must confirm that: Ethical principles for the use of laboratory animals were followed in accordance with the requirements of the document "European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental or other Scientific Purposes. ETS 123". The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the local ethics committee ... (protocol No. ... dated ...).

For case reports (series of cases), authors must confirm that: All procedures involving patients were conducted in accordance with the 2013 revision of the Declaration of Helsinki. The patient(s) signed informed consent for the publication of their data. Informed consent for publication of the data in the journal "Voprosy Onkologii" has been obtained.

The authors of the case report are responsible for obtaining the patient's informed consent for publication. The submission of the article implies the existence of such consent.

The editorial team of the journal "Voprosy Onkologii" has the right to request the relevant consent from the author(s) and not to publish the article until confirmation is received that the publication will not violate the rights of third parties.

3.10. The journal allows references to scientific journals, books, book chapters (including e-books), reference books, encyclopedias, methodological and educational materials, recommendations of professional communities, and Internet resources that contain official databases with codifiers, classifiers, registers, and other reference information provided by regulatory bodies, professional medical organizations, or professional communities (legislative acts and other regulatory documents, patents, certificates of registration of databases and computer programs, utility models, published conference materials). References to unpublished manuscripts, audio-visual information, interviews, and unpublished reports are not permitted.

3.11. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology.

• Authors who used artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (e.g., large language models[LLMs], chatbots, or image generators should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work in the appropriate section if applicable, how they used it.
• If AI-assisted technologies were used to write or edit the manuscript, this should be described in the “Acknowledgments” section.
• If AI-assisted technologies were used to collect and analyze data, the authors should describe this in detail in the “Materials and Methods” section: the description should include the name of the language model or tool, the version number, extension number and manufacturer.
• Chatbots should not be listed as authors or co-authors, nor can authors refer to AI as an author.
• Authors are responsible for accuracy, correctness and should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in any submitted material that included the use of AI-assisted technologies.

4.0. Copyright Transfer

By submitting a manuscript to the editorial board, the authors accept the terms of the AUTHOR'S AGREEMENT (public offer) to publish their article in the scientific journal "Voprosy Onkologii".

COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT (public offer)

Notice:

• Manuscripts that do not meet the above requirements, or contain significant grammatical, syntactical, or stylistic errors, will not be published and/or peer-reviewed.
• The editorial team reserves the right to edit and condense submitted articles. All authors are required to confirm their agreement with the final version for publication.