Journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and affiliated to the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology.
ESTRO members can access Radiotherapy and Oncology online via the members-only section of the ESTRO website: please go to http://www.estro.be
and follow the links.
Guide for Authors
ARTICLES should deal with original research or reviews of topics defined in the aims of the journal. Radiotherapy and Oncology publishes
original material only. It is therefore understood that the content of the paper has not previously been published in the same or a similar
form and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The act of submitting a manuscript to the journal carries with
it the right to publish that paper.
Articles and other text material published in Radiotherapy and Oncology represent the opinions
of the authors and do not reflect the opinions, official policy, or recommendations of ESTRO, the publisher, or the institution with
which the author is affiliated, unless the contrary is specified.
These guidelines generally follow the "Uniform Requirements for
Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals". The complete document appears at http://www.icmje.org.
MANUSCRIPT
SUBMISSION
Radiotherapy and Oncology uses an online manuscript submission and peer review process.
Papers and correspondence
should be submitted online at http://www.ees.elsevier.com/ro and the instructions on the site should be closely followed.
Authors may submit manuscripts and track their progress to final decision. Reviewers can download manuscripts and submit their reports
to the Editors electronically.
The full contact details for the Editorial Office are shown below:
Professor Jens Overgaard,
M.D., Radiotherapy and Oncology Secretariat, Department of Experimental Clinical Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Nörrebrogade
44, Building 5, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark (Tel: +45 89 49 26 29; Fax: +45 86 19 71 09; E-mail: ro@oncology.dk)
In a covering letter, please identify the person responsible for editorial correspondence (address, telephone and fax numbers and email
address). The covering letter must be signed by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors. All authors should have made substantial
contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation
of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to
be submitted. Also include details of any previous submission.
Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the
criteria for authorship as defined above should be listed in an acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged
include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors
should disclose whether they had an writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.
Conflict of Interest
At the end of the text, under a subheading "Conflict of Interest Statement" all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships
with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest
include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or
other funding.
Role of the Funding Source
All sources of funding should be declared as an acknowledgement at the end
of the text. Authors should declare the role of the study sponsors, if any, in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the study sponsors had no
such involvement, the authors should so state.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Work on human beings that is submitted to the journal
should comply with the principles laid down in the DECLARATION OF HELSINKI; Recommendations guiding physicians in biomedical research
involving human subjects. Adopted by the 18th World Medical Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, June 1964, amended by the 29th World Medical
Assembly, Tokyo, Japan, October 1975, the 35th World Medical Assembly, Venice, Italy, October 1983, and the 41st World Medical Assembly,
Hong Kong, September 1989. The manuscript should contain a statement that the work has been approved by the appropriate ethical committees
related to the institution(s) in which it was performed and that subjects gave informed consent to the work. Studies involving experiments
with animals must state that their care was in accordance with institution guidelines. Where applicable, the dose and schedule of anaesthetics
and analgesics should be reported. The editors reserve the right to reject papers in which, in their opinion, the ethical justification
is questionable.
TYPES OF PAPERS
1. Full length original papers (max. 4000 words)
Describe original scientific work
in the field of radiation oncology or related areas. The content of the paper should be sufficient to reach valid conclusions. Full papers
should include a structured abstract and be divided into sections (Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion; References;
Tables; Figures) and should not normally exceed 10 printed pages, including references and a maximum of 8 tables/figures.
2. Short
communications and Technical notes (max. 2500 words)
Provide a brief but complete account of a particular piece of work, e.g.
Phase I or II study, and should in total be no longer than 4 printed pages, normally including a maximum of 2 figures or tables. A summary
of not more than 50 words should be included (not a structured abstract), but the manuscript can have fewer subheadings (e.g. short introduction;
materials and methods; results and discussion). Authors are advised to see a recent issue of the journal for size and lay-out.
3. Review articles
Rigorous critical assessment of clinical and/or laboratory research in a field of interest to the journal
and its subscribers. Reviews are normally solicited by the editors, and it is suggested that authors wishing to contribute a review article
contact the editor-in-chief.
4. Editorials and commentaries
Editorials and commentaries relate to articles in the journal
or to issues of relevance for the readership. This type of communication is normally solicited by the editors.
5. Letters to the
Editor
On topics of current interest or comment upon material previously or simultaneously published in the journal. They should
be limited to 500 words and may include 1 table or figure.
6. Announcements
The inclusion of announcements, etc. is at
the discretion of the Editors and the Publisher and subject to space availability. Request for inclusion of meeting announcement should
be send to the ESTRO secretariat (see address in journal).
NOTE: The instructions to authors must be followed strictly,
and manuscripts not adhering to the instructions may be delayed or omitted from editorial handling. Typical errors are related to the
number, quality and format of figures and tables, incorrect list of references (MUST be in order of appearance), or insufficient description
and reporting of endpoints and statistical analysis.
Title Page. Make titles brief, informative and specific, but avoid
abbreviations in title. State authors' full names and academic addresses of hospital or academic institution where the work was done,
mailing address for reprints if different from above. Supply corresponding author's mailing address, telephone and FAX numbers and e-mail
address, if available (to be used during editorial communication and for later contacts).
Indicate on the title page the total number
of pages, tables and figures included in the manuscript. Include a running head (shortened form of title) of no more than 40 characters.
3-6 keywords for indexing should be provided on the title page.
Abstract. Type abstract on a separate page. Full paper manuscripts
should include a structured abstract (of not more than 200 words). The abstract should concisely define the significant aspects of the
article and it should contain four paragraphs, labelled Background and Purpose, Material and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. For review
articles and special features, a non-structured abstract can be accepted. Short communications and technical notes should have a (less
than 50 words) non-structured abstract. Abstracts are not required for editorials, commentaries and Letters to the Editor.
Text
style. All units must be clear and either use or relate to the SI-system. Absorbed dose should be given in Gray (Gy). Abbreviations
must be defined when first used in the text, and excessive use of abbreviations should be avoided.
Reporting radiotherapy technique.
Radiotherapy techniques and dose fractionation schedules should be reported in sufficient detail to allow the reader to evaluate if they
are appropriate. The description should include the following: tumour dose definition, permitted dose variation, target volume description,
permitted dose to critical normal tissues. For the specification of doses and target volumes the authors are strongly encouraged to follow
the ICRU recommendations. Dose-planning, simulation, verification and quality assurance procedures should be described. Dose-fractionation
details should include total dose, dose per fraction, overall treatment time, interval between fractions in multiple-fractions-per-day
schedules. Dose-rate should be stated when relevant. Biological equivalent dose units (e.g. BED or other derived quantities) should not
be reported instead of these details of the fractionation schedule.
Reporting of treatment outcome. All clinical endpoints
should be clearly and explicitly defined. Endpoints requiring prolonged observation of the patient, e.g. local control, late toxicity
or survival, should be estimated using actuarial methods and the starting date and the date of an event or censoring should be defined.
The pattern of follow-up should be stated and the specific diagnostic procedures, for example to detect a relapse, should be described.
Any report of the outcome of cancer treatment should include data on both treatment effect and treatment-related toxicity. It is strongly
recommended that toxicity be recorded and reported using a standard system developed for radiotherapy. Late sequelae should be reported
as actuarial estimates, preferably at five years or more of follow-up. Quality-of-life (QOL) measures should not be reported as surrogate
endpoints for toxicity. It is recommended that QOL be evaluated using a validated and standardized scale.
Reporting clinical outcome
studies. Controlled clinical trials should test a clearly defined a priori hypothesis and the primary outcome measures for
tumour effect and toxicity should be stated. Any supplementary comparisons of treatment effect should be clearly identified as exploratory.
In an attempt to improve the quality of reports on clinical outcome, the journal has adopted a set of guidelines for such reports that
meets the minimum requirements defined in the CONSORT statement (www.consort-statement.org). The background for these guidelines is presented
in the review by S. M. Bentzen (Towards evidence based radiation oncology: improving the design, analysis, and reporting of clinical
outcome studies in radiotherapy, Radiotherapy and Oncology 46: 5--18, 1998) and the guidelines are reproduced in schematic form together
with this instruction. Any report on clinical outcome studies, whether the study applies randomized controls or not, must be accompanied
by a filled-in copy of this form at the time of submission. The form may be copied from the journal or retrieved here.
Obligation to register clinical trials. Radiotherapy and Oncology has adopted the proposal from the International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) which require, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration in a public trials registry.
Trials must register at or before the onset of patient enrolment. This policy applies to any clinical trial starting enrolment after
July 1, 2005. For trials that begin enrolment before this date, registration will be required by October 31, 2005, before considering
the trial for publication. For this purpose, a clinical trial is defined as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects
to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome.
Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (e.g. phase I trials) would be exempt. Further
information can be found at www.icmje.org.
Statistics. The description of statistical procedures should be included in the
section of 'Material and Methods', for example under a separate sub-heading. Statistical methods should be clearly identified and described
in sufficient detail for a knowledgeable reader to reproduce the analysis if he had access to the raw data. The choice of method should
be motivated. When relevant, the statistical software used and its version number should be stated. The term 'significant' should be
reserved for findings that are statistically significant at the 5% level. It should be stated whether P-values are from one- or two-sided
tests. The journal encourages the reporting of 95% confidence intervals rather than simple P-values whenever relevant. A special concern
is the statistical power of analyses showing that a parameter is not significantly associated with the outcome, despite previous reports
of a significant association. Here, a confidence interval should be estimated for the effect of this parameter as an indication of the
statistical strength of the reported non-significance. Multivariate analyses should be reported with a clearly indication of the criteria
for selection of parameters to be tested in the model, and how these parameters were represented ('scored') in the model. This applies
both for parameters significantly associated with the outcome parameter and parameters for which this is not so.
Tables. Tables
should be typed, each on a separate page, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals with respect to citation in the text, and only
contain horizontal lines. A short descriptive heading should be given above each table, and any footnotes and explanations underneath.
The data should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Indication of previously published material should
be included, and the sources should be included in the reference list with the reference number cited in the table. Abbreviations must
be defined.
Figures. Figures should only be used if they include important information not given in the text. Prepare figures
with care, and note that the most simple figures often carry the clearest information. The journal would like to present the material
as clearly as possible, but this demands that authors supply the most pedagogical and best designed graphic material.
Figures should
be in a form and condition suitable for reproduction, viz. in final setting a single column (=7.7 cm) or exceptionally a whole page (=16.2
cm). Please calculate or, if possible, use a photocopier reduction device to ensure this. Also, lettering should be large enough to withstand
reduction (a lower case 'n', after reduction by the Publisher, should not be smaller than 2 mm).
Line drawings should be at a resolution
of 1000dpi. Make figures specifically for the purpose of publication, and avoid prints from computerized slide programs. Secure consistency
in symbols and line presentations. Avoid 3-dimensional presentations (especially 3-D histograms) unless strictly needed.
Half-tone
photographs should be in black and white, very sharp, well contrasting, and on glossy paper. Photographs should be trimmed to the width
of a single column (7.7 cm), or exceptionally the width of a full page (16.2 cm).
Magnification and staining materials should be indicated
in photomicrograph legends.
Colour illustrations. Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer
prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in publication. Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format
(TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. Polariod colour prints are not suitable. If, together with your accepted
article, you submit usable colour figures as electronic files then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures
will appear in colour on the Web (e.g. ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless or whether or not these illustrations are reproduced
in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after
receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for colour in print or on the Web only. For further information on
the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork .
Please note : Because of technical complications
which can arise by converting colour figures to "grey scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please
submit in addition usable black and white versions or all the colour illustrations.
Figure legends. Legends should be typed,
with double spacing, on a separate page, and numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Avoid subdivision of figures (e.g. 2a, 2b)
unless it is used to identify a part of a full figure. Figure legends should be brief and specific and contain an explanation for all
symbols and abbreviations given in the figure.
References. Literature references in the text should be referred to by a number
in square brackets, e.g. [2,12--15]. List all references at the end of the paper in order of appearance and numbered. The format of references
(with the exception of the alphabetic order) should include:
1. Names and initials of all authors when six or fewer. Otherwise list
only the first three and add et al.
2. Full title of the article or chapter.
3a. For journals: Name of the journal (abbreviated
as in Index Medicus), year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers.
3b. For books: Title of the book preceded
by 'In:', names and initials (same rules as for authors), 'editor(s):' Publisher's name and city, year of publication; first and last
relevant page numbers.
Examples:
Journal reference with six or less authors:
[1] Thwaites, D, Scalliet, P, Leer, J-W and
Overgaard, J. Quality assurance in radiotherapy. European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Advisory Report to the Commission
of the European Union for the 'Europe Against Cancer Programme'. Radiother. Oncol. 1995;35:61-73.
Journal reference with more than
six authors:
[2] Geara FB, Peters LJ, Ang KK et al. Intrinsic radiosensitivity of normal human fibroblasts and lymphocytes after
high- and low-dose rate irradiation. Cancer Res. 1992;52:6348-6352.
Book chapter reference:
[3] Steel GO. Survival of clonogenic
cells: cell-survival curves. In: Steel GO, Adams GE, Horwich A, editors. The Biological Basis of Radiotherapy. 2nd Edition, Amsterdam:
Elsevier. 1989;45-63.
Do not include numbered references to personal communications, unpublished data, and manuscripts 'in preparation'
or 'submitted for publication'. If essential, such material may be incorporated at the appropriate place in the text. A written permission
from a referred person should be included with the submission of the paper. Please note that the references should be appropriate references
to the scientific literature. References to abstracts, course books, or commercial publications which are not accessible at the international
libraries should be omitted.
Electronic appendices. Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier now accepts
electronic supplementary material (e-components) to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the Author
additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets,
sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier
Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com . In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable,
please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together
with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork
instruction pages at the Author Gateway at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork . Files can be stored on 3.5 inch diskette, ZIP-disk or
CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh).
Manuscript handling and responsibilities. Review of manuscripts is conducted by the editors,
with the assistance of editorial board members and external reviewers. Authors will be notified of acceptance, rejection, or need for
revision. Papers sent back to authors for revision must be returned to us within the time specified in our cover letter or the manuscript
will be retired from further consideration. Acceptance is contingent on author submission of complete and consistent data, accurate reference
list, and conclusions consistent with results demonstrated in the study. Inconsistencies and inaccuracies found after acceptance may
warrant return of the manuscript. The decision to publish a manuscript is solely the responsibility of the editorial board.
The author
is responsible for all statements in his work, including changes made by the copy editors. Permissions to quote and reproduce text previously
published must be obtained by the author. Accepted manuscripts become the property of the journal and may not be published elsewhere
without written permission from both the editor and publisher. Files related to accepted and published papers will not be preserved nor
returned after publication.
Copyright. Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a "Journal Publishing
Agreement" (for more information on this and copyright see http://authors.elsevier.com). Acceptance of the agreement will
ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt
of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form.
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the
author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms
for use by authors in these cases : contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Philadelphia, PA, USA: Tel. (+1) 215 238 7869; Fax (+1) 215
238 2239; e-mail healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions).
Proofs. One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail
address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download
Adobe Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to
annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return
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and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail,
or by post.
Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and
figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the
Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that
all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent
corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of
your article if no response is received.
Offprints. The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file
of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article
and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper
offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.
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Certain repositories such as PubMed Central ("PMC") are authorized under special arrangement with Elsevier to process and post certain
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journal and whose underlying research is supported by one of the following funding bodies:
* National Institutes of Health.
Elsevier will send a version of the author's accepted manuscript that includes author revisions following peer-review for public access
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More information regarding the agreement between Elsevier and the National Institutes of Health can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/nihauthorrequest * The Wellcome Trust. Elsevier will send to PMC the version of the author's manuscript that reflects all author-agreed changes
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Tokyo 106-0044, Japan. Tel: +81 3 5561 5032; Fax: +81 3 5561 5045; e-mail: jp.info@elsevier.com
