International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics

To facilitate a smooth submission process for both authors and editorial staff, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics has assembled the following author guidelines. For clarification on the policies listed below, or general questions regarding submissions, please contact the IJROBP editorial office at (703) 502-1550 or redjournal@astro.org.

Authors are encouraged to review this checklist before proceeding with submission.

I. Introduction to the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics

II. Electronic Submissions and Correspondence

III. Submission Fees

IV. Journal Policies

A. Human and Animal Experimentation

B. Conditions of Publication

C. Copyright Transfer

D. Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure

E. Permissions

F. Authorship Criteria

G. Publication Ethics and Misconduct

H. Peer Review: Double-Blind

I. Online Publication

V. Journal Style & Guidelines

A. Types of Submissions

1. Editorials
2. Critical Reviews
3. Correspondence

   a) Brief Reports and Opinion
   b) Comments
   

4. Obituaries
5. Controversies
6. Scientific Articles
7. Cover Images

I. Introduction to the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics

The International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (IJROBP), known in the field as the Red Journal, publishes original laboratory and clinical investigations related to radiation oncology, radiation biology, medical physics, and both education and health policy as it relates to the field.

This journal has a particular interest in original contributions of the following types: prospective clinical trials, outcomes research, and large database interrogation. In addition, it seeks reports of high-impact innovations in single or combined modality treatment, tumor sensitization, normal tissue protection (including both precision avoidance and pharmacologic means), brachytherapy, particle irradiation, and cancer imaging. Technical advances related to dosimetry and conformal radiation treatment planning are of interest, as are basic science studies investigating tumor physiology and the molecular biology underlying cancer and normal tissue radiation response.

II. Electronic Submissions and Correspondence

The Red Journal accepts submissions and correspondence electronically, and this Web-based system enables authors to track their submissions online. The entire review process and all written correspondence are also handled through this system. Author and reviewer tutorials are provided online; 24-hour phone and email help is available.

Authors must register on the website with their email address and other information to receive a password. Those who have previously reviewed or submitted a manuscript for the IJROBP may already be registered. Specific instructions for accessing and using the system can be found at www.redjournal.org (select "Submit a Manuscript" under "For Authors"). Once the submission files are uploaded, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including editor decisions and requests for revisions, is by email through EES or redjournal@astro.org. However, you can also contact the Editorial Office at the headquarters of the American Society for Radiation Oncology at 1-703-502-1550 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

III. Submission Fees

The Red Journal requires a $75 fee for all clinical and critical review submissions. Biology and physics contributors are exempt, as are all submissions from countries considered by the World Bank to have developing economies. The recent incredible rise in the number of journal submissions has led to a significant increase in the expenses related to the peer review process. These fees will help offset a portion of these costs. During the submission process, authors will be requested to visit the Submission Start site to complete payment by a credit card. The manuscript will then begin the review process once the payment is received.

IV. Journal Policies

A. Human and Animal Experimentation

When reporting on human subjects, please indicate in the text whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Patient anonymity must be ensured at all times; do not use patient names, initials, hospital numbers, or other identification in the manuscript, tables, or figures. In clinical photographs, identities of patients should be masked or otherwise cropped. Written consent forms from patients must accompany all photographs in which there is any possibility of identification of the patient. When reporting experiments on animals, please also indicate in the text that you followed your institution's or a national research council's guide for, or a national law on, the care and use of laboratory animals.

B. Conditions of Publication

It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to IJROBP have not already been published and will not be submitted simultaneously or published elsewhere. Abstracts submitted for meetings are exempt; however, we ask that you state when and where an abstract was presented. All manuscripts submitted to IJROBP are subject to peer review, and only those that are of the highest scientific quality are accepted for publication.

C. Copyright Transfer

Authors are required to sign a copyright transfer form, which will accompany page proofs of the article. For details on copyright policy, please refer to Copyright Information at http://www.elsevier.com/authors.

D. Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure

IJROBP adheres to the policy on conflict of interest promulgated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ( ICMJE), which states, in part, that "to prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist." (See Conflict of Interest Notification.) All authors on the manuscript are required to include an ICMJE form with submission, available for free download at http://www.icmje.org.

E. Permissions

Written permission must be obtained by authors and submitted with the manuscript for the following:
• Permission of the publisher and/or copyright holder to reprint in IJROBP any material that has been previously published, including figures, tables, and quotations; quotations must be accurate and fully credited.
• Permission for the use of personal communication and/or unpublished data, and the month and year in which the information was obtained.
• Written consent forms from patients for all photographs in which there is any possibility of identifying the patient.

F. Authorship Criteria

According to the "Uniform Requirements" (see Journal Style and Guidelines), all persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its content. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to

(1) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data, and to
(2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and to
(3) final approval of the version to be published.

All three criteria must be met. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding of collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group does not justify authorship. Any part of an article critical to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author.

In the case of corporate authorship, all members of the group must meet all criteria to justify authorship and inclusion in the byline. Those who do not meet these criteria should be listed (with their permission) in an Acknowledgments section.

The order of the authors must be agreed to by all co-authors before the manuscript is submitted for consideration.

G. Publication Ethics and Misconduct

IJROBP maintains a zero-tolerance policy when addressing allegations of plagiarism, data falsification, and scientific misconduct. Articles will be retracted if ethics violations are substantiated. Plagiarism is defined by the World Association for Medical Editors ( WAME) as the "use of others' published and unpublished ideas or words (or other intellectual property) without attribution or permission, and presenting them as new and original rather than derived from an existing source." IJROBP participates in the CrossCheck program to investigate incidents of possible plagiarism.

Manipulating data through fabrication, omission, or intentional distortion is unacceptable. Authors should be prepared to provide original data to editors if there is a question of authenticity. Claims of scientific misconduct are investigated and addressed, guided by the Committee of Publication Ethics ( COPE) Code of Conduct. Specific questions regarding publication ethics and misconduct policies at IJROBP should be directed to the Editorial Office at 1-703-502-1550 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or by email to redjournal@astro.org.

H. Peer Review: Double-Blind

IJROBP uses a double-blind review process in which authors do not know the identity of their reviewers, nor do the reviewers know the identities of the authors. The Senior Editors select external reviewers from a database of experts, many of whom are Editorial Board members. E-mail redjournal@astro.org if you are interested in becoming a reviewer. The Editors encourage authors to suggest names of potential reviewers, although there is no guarantee that these reviewers will, in fact, review the submission. Reviewers provide comments for the Editors and the authors and recommend one of the four decisions listed below. The Editor assigned to the manuscript reads all reviews and forwards a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief approves all accept and reject decisions.

A portion of submissions are declined without external review if such manuscripts are judged to be inappropriate for the journal's readership. If review is required, authors can expect to learn of rejection or acceptance in approximately 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the turnaround time for reviews.

After the external review is complete, the Editor's decision, with comments from the reviewers, is emailed to the corresponding author. The author will receive one of the following decisions:

• Reject: The Editors did not select your manuscript for publication. Many factors contribute to acceptance, including but not limited to: importance of the research to the field of oncology; the originality of the work; the quality of the study; or the priority of the work to IJROBP and its readership.
• Unacceptable/Major Revision: The editors felt that your article contained information of potential importance but a number of major issues were raised. If you believe that you can address the issues raised, the editors would be willing to reconsider your manuscript, but cannot guarantee acceptance, particularly if you cannot address the concerns. Such manuscripts must be revised and resubmitted within two months after the decision, or they will be considered a new submission.
• Acceptable/Minor Revisions: The editors found your manuscript potentially acceptable for publication provided you make some minor adjustments. Such manuscripts must be revised and resubmitted within one month after the decision.
• Accepted: The editors selected your manuscript for publication. Additional information will be provided regarding the production process.

I. Online Publication

Articles that have been accepted for publication, set into page proof, and corrected by authors and editors are posted online before print publication under the "Articles in Press" section of the IJROBP website, www.redjournal.org. Abstracts are also available through PubMed.

V. Journal Style and Guidelines

In addition to these Instructions to Authors, IJROBP relies on the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals," ( http://www.icmje.org/) and the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th ed.

A. Types of Submissions

1. Editorials
Editorials are brief commentary, analysis, or opinion pieces about a published article or other topic of special interest. Both solicited and unsolicited editorials undergo peer review.

a) Requirements
Disclosure form

b) Limitations
Editorials should not exceed 1,500 words and 10 references.

2. Critical Reviews
Critical reviews are contributions from experts in the field exploring interesting topics.

a) Requirements
Cover letter, summary, abstract, disclosure forms; subheadings should not be used in abstracts for Critical Review articles; abstracts for Critical Reviews should just summarize the content of the article.

b) Limitations
Critical reviews are limited to 6,500 words including references.

3. Correspondence (formerly Letter to the Editor)
"Correspondence" features two categories of submissions published in IJROBP:

a) Brief Reports and Opinion
Here, Red Journal readers have a forum in which to express their opinion on scientific, educational or policy issues, as well as present preliminary data and personal experience.

(1) Limitations
Please limit text to 600 words with 10 or fewer references. One figure or table is permissible. Submit using EES.

b) Comments
Readers are able to remark on work published in the Red Journal and participate in discussion with the authors.

(1) Limitations
Comments should be no more than 400 words with 10 or fewer references. Remarks on a particular article should be submitted within 3 months of publication of the article publication (either in the print journal or e-only). Authors whose articles are being commented on are given the opportunity to reply and should do so within 3 months of the request. Submit using EES.

4. Obituaries

Since its inception, the Red Journal has had occasion to publish obituaries of individuals that have made a substantial impact on the radiation oncology and radiation therapy fields. A biographical and research contribution retrospective may be solicited by the Editor in Chief, however outside submissions are welcome. The Editor in Chief, as well as the IJROBP Senior Editors, will determine acceptability of these submissions, as they will not be sent out for review.

a) Limitations
All submissions are limited to 1,500 words. A high-resolution photo is encouraged although it may not be used. More information on photo quality and acceptable file formatting is available through Elsevier at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/artwork.

5. Controversies

This section is devoted to an exchange on controversial topics that are of a higher profile than can be adequately dealt with in the Letters to the Editor section. The Editor-in-Chief, in conjunction with the Senior Editors, identifies topics that qualify for the feature. The section is accompanied by a commentary that introduces and explains the controversy.

6. Scientific Articles

The journal publishes scientific articles describing original laboratory and clinical investigations related to radiation oncology, radiation biology, and medical physics. Submissions are thoroughly reviewed for scientific originality, significance, relevance, and priority, and the topics must be of broad interest to the journal's readers. Only high-priority manuscripts that report cutting-edge science and that promise to have a strong impact on clinical practice are accepted.

a) Requirements
Cover Letter (Preferred) - The cover letter introduces the manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief and briefly summarizes the purpose or intent of the research.

Title Page (with author details) -The title page should include a concise but informative title; a complete byline (see Authorship), including each author's full name and highest earned academic degree(s); each author's complete affiliation( s), including department(s), institution(s), city, state, and country; the name and complete mailing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author (to whom all correspondence and reprint requests will be directed); and a shortened running title. Acknowledgment of grant or other financial support, meeting presentation, conflict of interest, or assistance with manuscript preparation or data collection can be included here or in an Acknowledgments section.

Conflict of Interest Notification - On the page that follows the title page, under the heading "Conflicts of Interest Notification," please state explicitly whether any actual or potential conflicts of interest do or do not exist. Provide additional detail, as necessary, in the accompanying cover letter.

Blinded manuscript - When preparing a manuscript for submission, it is critical that the authors remove all author-identifying information. Institution and author names within the text should be substituted with generic phrases, such as "the institute" or "the author(s)." Where appropriate, authors may also substitute generic characters, such as "XXXX." Manuscripts that are noncompliant with this requirement will be returned without exception.

Summary - All full-length articles and critical reviews must include a short summary of the paper. This summary will be displayed in a box on the first page of the article next to the abstract, to help readers quickly understand the highlights of the article. Ideally, will contain three or four simple, clear sentences that answer the following questions:

What is the background or hypothesis?
What is the nature of the study?
What do the results add to our knowledge?
For clinical papers, how is this relevant to clinical practice?

Abstract - The abstract should be structured using the following subheadings: Purpose, Methods and Materials, Results, and Conclusions. These subheadings should not be used in abstracts for Critical Review articles; abstracts for Critical Reviews should just summarize the content of the article. The Abstract should reflect the content of the article and include the purpose of the study, the experimental design, the most important results, and an interpretation of the data, including the conclusion and any implications derived from the results.

Keywords - After the Abstract, provide five specific key words.

Introduction - The Introduction section should include the background and rationale for the study, a clear purpose or hypothesis statement, and a brief description of the experimental design.

Methods and Materials - The Methods and Materials section should describe the materials used and the experimental and statistical methods. Previously described methods should not be included, only cited, with significant modifications stated. Clinical studies should be identified as retrospective or prospective. Methods should not be included in the Results section or figure legends.

Results - The Results section should describe only the most important results of the study and include as little discussion as possible. Measures of statistical significance must be clearly indicated, and tables and figures should be cited in numerical order.

Discussion - The Discussion section should begin with a statement of the conclusions based on the study's findings and include an interpretation of the results in the context of other published studies. The study's limitations and implications should also be stated. The conclusions can be included in this section or presented separately under the heading "Conclusions." They should be clearly tied to the purpose of the study. Background information, methods, and results should not be repeated in detail in the Discussion.

References - References must be cited and numbered in consecutive numerical order as they first appear in the text and should be listed in consecutive numerical (not alphabetical) order in the References section. All bibliographic information must be complete and accurate. The author is responsible for the accuracy of all references. The following reference style must be used, and the author should also refer to the "Uniform Requirements" and the American Medical Association Manual of Style for other examples and conventions. For authors using EndNote software, International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics is an available output style.

Journal references should be given in the following order: author(s) surnames and initials, that is, the names of the first three authors followed by et al.; article title (with subtitle if any), journal abbreviation in italics, year, volume number, part or supplement number, and inclusive page numbers. If the paper has been seen only in abstract form, this should be indicated at the end of the original reference by the addition of the word [Abstract]. Likewise, if the reference is to a volume with a supplement, the supplement number with the abbreviation [Suppl.] should be included. References to books must include the names of the authors, title, edition number, city of publication, publisher, and year. References to chapters in books must include the names of the editors and the chapter title after the name(s) of the author(s) and the book title. Examples of references using the AMA numbered style follow:

1. Davis JT, Allen HD, Powers JD, et al. Population requirements for capitation planning in pediatric cardiac surgery. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1996;150:257-259.
2. Champlin RER, Feig SA, Ho WG, et al. Bone marrow transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission: Importance of extramedullary involvement [Abstract]. Blood 1982;60 (Suppl. 1):165a.
3. Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.
4. Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. NewYork: RavenPress; 1995. pp. 465-478.

Figure Legends - Complete, explanatory, and descriptive legends must be provided for all figures. The legends must correspond to the consecutively numbered figures and be typed double-spaced after the References section inside the manuscript document. All abbreviations or other letter designations used in a figure must be defined in the legend for that figure. Magnification and staining materials should be indicated. Acknowledgment of previously published material should be given in the legend, and the source should be included in the References section. (See Permissions.)

Figures - Each figure should be placed in a separate file and uploaded individually at submission. Please make sure that each figure is properly identified in the file. Figures should be consecutively numbered (1, 2, 3, etc.) as they appear in the text and must be accompanied by legends (See Figure Legends.). The author should include figures that enhance, not duplicate, textual information. Four-color figures may be submitted, but the author assumes all costs for printing in color if elected. All color figures are published free of charge in the online version of articles. Lettering should be uniform and large enough to be easily read when reduced for publication. Patient anonymity must be ensured at all times; do not use patient names, initials, hospital numbers, or other identification in the figures or legends. In clinical photographs, identities of patients should be masked or otherwise cropped. Written consent forms from patients must accompany all photographs in which there is any possibility of identifying the patient. Unsuitable figures will be returned to the author for correction or substitution.

Previously published figures must be accompanied by written permission to reprint from the publisher and authors, with sources cited in the text.

For further details in the preparation of artwork and the types of files that are acceptable for publication, please go to www.elsevier.com/locate/artwork.

Tables - Tables should be placed in one separate file for uploading at submission, preferably in a Word document. Tables should be typed double-spaced on separate pages, and numbered consecutively, as well as cited in the text in numerical order. Each table number (1, 2, 3, etc.) should be followed by a brief, specific title. Table titles should be placed above each of their respective tables. The data should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Previously published tables must be accompanied by written permission to reprint from the publisher and authors, with sources cited in the text. Acknowledgments to previously published material should be given in a footnote to the table, and the source should be included in the References section (see Permissions). All abbreviations used in the table must be defined in the footnotes. Footnotes should be ordered as they first appear in the table with the following standard symbols: *(asterisk), †† (dagger), †† (double dagger),†† (section mark), || (parallel mark), ¶(paragraph symbol), and # (number sign).

Supplemental Materials - Authors are welcome to submit supplementary material and appendices at the time of e-submission. However, the Editor-in-Chief will determine whether the material is relevant enough that it should be published with the manuscript. If not, the author will be told that the material will be posted on the Journal's website and a footnote will be added to the opening page of the article indicating that "Supplementary material or appendices for this article can be found at www.redjournal.org." It is recommended that authors indicate this Web site in the text where the material is cited and number the material as Table e1 or Figure e1, etc. Appendices should be numbered Appendix eI or eII, etc. While supplementary material and appendices will be reviewed, it will not be typeset or edited by the publisher.

Disclosure forms - Available www.icmje.org, this form must be completed by each author and submitted with the manuscript.

b) Limitations
Cover Letter: None.

Title page: Restrict to 1 page, if possible.

Blinded manuscript: 4,000 words (including title page, summary, abstract, body text, references and figure legends)

Summary: 75 words or fewer (included in 4,000 word overall count)

Keywords: 5 or fewer (included in 4,000 word overall count)

Abstract: 300 words or fewer (included in 4,000 word overall count)

References: 20 or fewer (included in 4,000 word overall count)

Figures and Tables: Not to exceed 6 total (includes both tables and figures)

6. Cover Images

The Journal welcomes interesting images to publish on the cover and is particularly interested in original artwork by people within the radiation oncology community. This includes images of watercolors, drawings, photographs, and other illustrative arts. Images do not necessarily have to reflect radiation oncology; however, they must be created by someone within the field.

a) Requirements and Limitations
• Include a brief description of the image (200 words or fewer).
• Include a brief description of the artist (200 words or fewer).
• Do not include an abstract.
• Should the images be obtained in a clinical setting, all identifying information of patients, such as names, dates of birth, dates of service, or patient identification codes must be removed.
• If the image includes individually identifiable health information, authors must comply with the applicable privacy laws and obtain a HIPAA-compliant patient authorization form.
• Copyright holder must be willing grant comprehensive, nonexclusive permission for use by the Red Journal. Previously published figures must be accompanied by written permission to reprint from the publisher, with sources cited.
• Figures should be supplied in TIF or EPS format. All photographic images should be submitted at 300 dpi; all line art images should be submitted at 800 to 1,200 dpi. BMP, JPEG, and GIF file formats are unacceptable for publication, as are figures embedded in the manuscript document.
• For further details in the preparation of artwork and the types of files that are acceptable for publication, please go to www.elsevier.com/locate/artwork.

Updated February 2012