Surgical Oncology publishes review articles
that contribute to the advancement of knowledge in surgical oncology and related fields of interest. Articles represent a spectrum of
current technology in oncology research as well as those concerning clinical trials, surgical technique, methods of investigation and
patient evaluation. All manuscripts should be written in a style suitable for a wide range of physicians and scientists interested in
cancer management and research.
Types of contributions
• Reviews are comprehensive (though not encyclopaedic) review
articles. A typical Review will consist of approximately 6000 - 10000 words of text, exclusive of references, tables, figures, etc. More
extensive and comprehensive Reviews are also acceptable with the agreement of the Editor-in-Chief. • Commentaries are short
pieces of approximately 2000 - 3000 words of text commenting on a Review article. Most Commentaries are commissioned and authors wishing
to submit a Commentary on a published Review should discuss this with the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission. • Editorials
are approximately 1000 - 2000 words in length. Most Editorials are commissioned and authors wishing to submit an Editorial should discuss
this with the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission. • Book reviews should be between 250 - 500 words long.
Prior to Publication Surgical Oncology will consider manuscripts prepared according to the guidelines adopted by the International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors ("Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals", available as a PDF fromhttp://www.icmje.org). Authors are advised to read these guidelines.
Randomised controlled trials
All randomised controlled trials
submitted for publication in Surgical Oncology should include a completed Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)
flow chart. Please refer to the CONSORT statement website at http://www.consort-statement.org for more information. Surgical Oncology
has adopted the proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) which require, as a condition of consideration
for publication of clinical trials, registration in a public trials registry. Trials must register at or before the onset of patient
enrolment. The clinical trial registration number should be included at the end of the abstract of the article. 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.
Ethics
Work on human beings that is submitted to Surgical Oncology 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. Patients' and volunteers' names, initials, and hospital numbers should not be used.
Authorship
All authors must submit a completed Author Form with their manuscript. The form must be signed by the corresponding
author and can be scanned and uploaded to EES. The Author Form for Surgical Oncology can be downloaded here.
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).
Submission
of a Manuscript
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form
of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that
its publication is approved by all Authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and
that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent
of the Publisher.
Authors are requested to submit their manuscript online via http://ees.elsevier.com/surgonc which
is the web-based submission and peer review system for the journal. Prior to submitting your paper, please follow the instructions given
below. Please note that you must have an e-mail address to use the online submission system. Detailed instructions for authors and the
use of the online submission system are available at http://ees.elsevier.com/surgonc/. Please read the "Hints" for information
on how to register, and review the "Tutorial for Authors" for a run-through of the submission process.
Manuscript Layout
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these).
Title: the title
should be concise and informative. Please be aware that titles are often used in information retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and
formulae where possible.
Author names and affiliations: where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please
indicate this clearly. Present the Authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations
with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the Author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal
address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each Author.
Corresponding
Author: clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication.
Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal
address.
Abstract: a concise and factual abstract is required. It should be a succinct summary of the review subject matter.
An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should
be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Keywords: immediately
after the abstract, provide a maximum of 10 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and",
"of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used
for indexing purposes.
Abbreviations: define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence
in the article: in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Subdivision
of the article: divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1,
1.1.2, ), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not
just refer to "the text." Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
Tables: number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and
indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented
in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
Nomenclature and units: follow internationally accepted
rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
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 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.
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 any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.
References:
responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the Authors. Citations in the text: Please ensure that
every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be
given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the
text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should
include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication". Citation of a reference
as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Citing and listing of web references: as a minimum,
the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (Author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should
also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can
be included in the reference list.
Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The actual Authors
can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.
List: Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in
the list in the order in which they appear in the text.
Examples: Reference to a journal publication:
[1] Van der Geer J, Hanraads
JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun 2000;163:51-9.
Reference to a book:
[2] Strunk Jr W, White
EB. The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan; 1979.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
[3] Mettam GR, Adams
LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction to the electronic age, New York:
E-Publishing Inc; 1999, p. 281-304
Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and that for more than 6 Authors the first
6 should be listed followed by "et al."
Preparation of Electronic Illustrations
General points• Make
sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork. • Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the
font. . • Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol. . • Number
the illustrations according to their sequence in the text. . • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files. .
• Provide all illustrations as separate files. • Provide captions to illustrations separately. . • Produce
images near to the desired size of the printed version. .
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website:http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork. You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one
of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always
use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone
(colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these
Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please do not: • Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet,
presentation) document; • Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too
low; • Supply files that are too low in resolution; • Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the
content.
Line drawings
The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, so
as not to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of
two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format
of the journal when designing the illustrations.
Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.
Photographs
(halftones)
Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure.
Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the caption.
Colour illustrations
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and
with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures 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 of 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 of all the colour illustrations.
Revision of Articles
Should Authors be requested by the Editor-in-Chief to revise the text, the revised version should be
submitted within 10 weeks. After this period, the article will be regarded as a new submission.
Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential
manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies
please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.
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 to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark
the corrections 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.
