The Oncologist is designed specifically for the busy, practicing oncologist and hematologist entrusted with the care of cancer patients. With its emphasis on clear interpretation rather than extensive data, this bimonthly international peer-reviewed journal publishes original papers, reviews, and commentaries addressing the multimodality diagnosis and treatment of the cancer patient.

The Oncologist is a communications platform for the introduction of new medical treatments and technologies that will impact the practice of oncology and bridge clinical trials with practice. Emphasizing the cancer patient, diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life, The Oncologist places a high priority on rapid publication. The peer-review process generally averages no more than 3 weeks; hence the entire process, from manuscript acceptance to publication, will take approximately 3 months.

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SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

Send manuscripts and correspondence to:

Dr. Martin J. Murphy, Jr.
Executive Editor
The Oncologist
AlphaMed Press
One Prestige Place, Suite 290
Miamisburg, Ohio 45342-3758, USA
Telephone: 937-291-2355; Fax: 937-291-4229
E-mail: Martin.Murphy@TheOncologist.com

SUBMISSION COVER LETTER

Submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter briefly describing the work's significance and identifying the corresponding author, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and website (if available). An original and two copies of the manuscript are required. The Manuscript Submission Cover Sheet and Competing Interest Form , available in every issue of the Journal, or upon request from the Editorial Office, must be completed and supplied with all submissions. A computer disk containing the complete manuscript and all tables and figures should accompany the submitted manuscript.

Papers are published in English (with American spellings), and authors who are not fluent in English are advised to seek editorial help before submitting their papers.

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COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT

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Authors must sign a Copyright Transfer and Agreement form , with the exception of U.S. government employees whose official duties are financed with federal money. Authors submitting a manuscript do so with the understanding that if it is accepted for publication, the copyright, including the right to reproduce the article in all forms and media, shall be assigned exclusively to the publisher, AlphaMed Press. Please note: it is the author's responsibility to obtain written permission to reproduce illustrations, tables, etc., from other publications (see Permission Letters). (Click here for the Permissions form.)

Manuscripts are reviewed with the understanding that they have not been published previously and are not being reviewed elsewhere or published without attribution to The Oncologist. It is assumed that all listed authors concur in the submission, that a final copy of the manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors, and that all authors agree to share responsibility for the paper.

COMPETING INTEREST

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Authors of original manuscripts are required by The Oncologist to reveal any financial commitment or obligation with a company or its competitor who manufactures products that are discussed within the manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Additional relationships that might be considered a competing interest, such as holding equity or paid consultancy, must be stated in the manuscript cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief. All information concerning competing interests will be kept confidential until provisional acceptance (and on file thereafter). The authors will be sent and are obligated to sign a Competing Interest Form after the manuscript has been accepted, and the Editorial Office will work with the author to formulate a disclosure statement. (Click here for the Competing Interest form.)

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JOURNAL CONTENTS
The Oncologist conforms, in general, to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, as published in N Engl J Med 1997;336:309-315.

The decision to publish a manuscript, commentary, or Letter to the Editors is solely the responsibility of the Editors.

Original Articles
Original articles describing new findings of major importance should contain no more than 3,000 words of text, or approximately 12 double-spaced, typed pages. A non-refundable submission fee of $50.00 is required for all original manuscripts. However, this fee is waived for all invited manuscripts.

Review Articles
Most review articles are solicited by the Editors. Unsolicited reviews will also be considered and should contain no more than 4,000 words of text, or approximately 16 double-spaced, typed pages.

Commentaries
Editorial commentaries are most often solicited by the Editors, but unsolicited commentaries will be considered for publication. Commentaries may discuss any feature of the journal, including original articles, illustrations, and review articles. Editorials should contain no more than 1,000 words of text, or approximately four double-spaced, typed pages.

Letters to the Editors
Letters may comment on work previously published in The Oncologist or on current topics in oncology and should contain fewer than 500 words of text, or approximately two double-spaced, typed pages.

Announcements
Announcements of meetings and conferences that are of interest to the readership of The Oncologist should be received by the Editorial Office at least 3 months before the event.

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EDITORIAL REVIEW AND PROCESSING

Peer Review
An Editor will initially review all submitted manuscripts. Acceptance will be based on originality and importance to the field. Each manuscript is also reviewed by two or more experts in the field, and detailed comments from the reviewers are generally returned to the authors. Papers that do not conform to the criteria for submission will be returned immediately to the authors, without detailed review. Articles will generally be published within 12 weeks of acceptance. When papers are accepted subject to revisions, only a single revised version will be considered, which should be submitted within 3 weeks of the provisional acceptance. In most cases, authors will be notified of acceptance, need for revision, or rejection of the manuscript within 3 weeks of submission.

Rapid Communication/Fast-Track Review
If significant findings result from a study impacting public health, the author may request that the Editors consider the manuscript for rapid review. Submission should contain 2,500 words or less, preceded by an abstract of 150 words or less. Editorial decisions will generally be made within 2 weeks of submission of the manuscript. If possible, publication of the manuscript will normally be scheduled for the next issue of the journal.

Submission Fee
A non-refundable submission fee of $50.00 must accompany all manuscripts submitted for peer-review consideration (i.e., non-invited).The review process will not begin until the submission fee has been received. Please make payment in U.S. funds (check, money order, purchase order, credit card [AMEX, MC, VISA]) to The Oncologist, AlphaMed Press, One Prestige Place, Suite 290, Miamisburg, Ohio 45342-3758, USA. For international (non-U.S.) payments, please use credit card or bank wire transfer. The bank wire transfer information at National City Bank, Dayton, Ohio, is: Routing No. 042200279; Account No. 767816427.

Reprints
Reprints may be ordered on the form accompanying the author proofs. Charges are necessarily higher if orders for reprints are received after the issue has gone to press. Please allow 6 weeks from the date of publication for delivery of reprints. Air or expedited mail may be arranged at an additional charge.

Proofs
Authors are sent page proofs which are to be carefully proofread for copyediting or typesetting errors. Authors should also make sure that any renumbered tables and figures match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures. Page proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt by express/overnight mail or fax.

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SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Submit an original and three complete sets of the manuscript on white bond paper with 2.5 cm margins. Diskettes that include the text, tables, and figures must be submitted with the manuscript.

Title Page
The first page of the manuscript should contain the following information: 1) a running head of the title that is no more than 50 characters; 2) title; 3) names of author(s); 4) name of institution(s) in which the work was done; 5) disclaimers, if any; 6) brief acknowledgment of grants, equipment, or drugs for research support, and 7) four to six key words or phrases, using terms from the most recent Medical Subject Headings of Index Medicus.

Abstract
An abstract of no more than 250 words is required for all original papers. For the ease of our readers, and if appropriate for your manuscript, please structure your abstract so that it states the paper's primary purpose, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. For all other papers, the abstract should contain no more than 200 words. Do not use abbreviations, footnotes, statistical significant values, references, or acronyms in the abstract. Correspondence information should follow the abstract and should be preceded by "Correspondence:". It should include name, address (including postal code), telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses (if available) of the corresponding author. Supply all above-mentioned contact information for each collaborating author as well.

Text
The text should include: Introduction, Materials and Methods (when appropriate), Results, Discussion, Conclusion and/or Summary, Acknowledgments, References, tables, figures, and legends. All submitted material should be typed double-spaced, leaving left and right margins of at least 2.5 cm. Do not justify the right-hand margin.

Author-created abbreviations should be avoided, but if used, they must be clearly defined the first time used in the text. Number each page consecutively. All symbols and abbreviations should be defined. Footnotes should not be used. Number references, tables, and figures in the order in which they are cited in the text. The use of proprietary names of drugs or devices requires that the name, location, and website (if available) of the manufacturer be included. The disk accompanying the manuscript must contain exactly the same data as the hard copy.

Units of Measurement
Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples.

Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury.

All hematologic and clinical-chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Editors may request that alternative or non-SI units be added by the authors before publication.

References
References must be numbered consecutively, without periods after the reference numbers, ordered as they appear in the text (i.e., citation by number), and typed double-spaced in a separate reference section which follows the body of the text. List all authors when there are three or fewer. If there are more than three, list the first three followed by "et al.". List authors by last name with initials (no periods), title, name of publication, year, volume, and full beginning and ending page numbers (i.e., 22453-57 is not acceptable). Abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals should conform to those in the latest edition of Index Medicus.

Examples of references:

• Standard Journal Article
  Cohen MH, Hirschfeld S, Flamm Honig S et al. Drug approval summaries: arsenic trioxide, tamoxifen citrate, anastrazole, paclitaxel, bexarotene. The Oncologist 2001;6:4-11.

• Journal Supplement
  List A. Vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway as an emerging target in hematologic malignancies. The Oncologist 2001;6(suppl 5):24-31.

• Journal Article, in press
  Wayne J, Abdalla E, Wolff R et al. Localized adenocarcinoma of the pancreas: the rationale for preoperative chemoradiation. The Oncologist 2002 (in press).

• Author of Book
  Metcalf D. Summon up the Blood: In Dogged Pursuit of the Blood Cell Regulators. Miamisburg: AlphaMed Press, 2000;1-214.

• Editor, Compiler, or Chairman as Book Author
  Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE et al., eds. Clinical Oncology. New York: Churchill Livingstone, Inc., 1995:111-128.

• Chapter in a Book
  Hoxie JA. Hematologic manifestations of AIDS. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ, Shattil SJ et al., eds. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice, Second Edition. New York: Churchill Livingstone, Inc., 1995:2171-2200.

• Abstract
  Hounshell J, Tomori C, Newlin R et al. Changes in finances, insurance, employment, and lifestyle among persons diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia. The Oncologist 2001;6:435a.

• Letter to the Editor
  Esmaeli B, Hortobagyi G. Canalicular stenosis as the underlying mechanism for epiphora in patients receiving weekly docetaxel [letter]. The Oncologist 2001;6:551-552.

• Additional Reading
  Authors should provide 3-5 general references for busy practitioners seeking more background information.

TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Tables
Tables must be titled and cited in numerical order in the text using Arabic numbers and should be typed doubled-spaced on separate pages. Use superscript letters to denote footnotes within a table. All decimal points should be aligned. Express all measurements in conventional units. Data in tables should be separated by tabs; the word processor's table feature should not be used. Failure to comply with the specifications for preparing tables may result in publication delay.

Figures and Illustrations
Figures must be cited in numerical order in the text. We encourage the submission of illustrations in color. Submit illustrations in electronic format wherever possible (see Electronic Submission of Articles). We also accept line drawings as clear, glossy, black-and-white photographs; clear, dark laser jet prints; summary graphics, or hand-drawn figures (which we can recreate for you, if desired). Photocopied or computer-generated (i.e., dot-matrix) figures are not acceptable. Non-electronic multipart figures should be submitted as single camera-ready composites. Symbols, lettering, and numbering must be clear and large enough to remain legible. Each figure must be identified on the reverse side by figure number, corresponding author's name, and proper orientation (e.g., "top"). Do not mount figures on cardboard. Electron photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. The use of three-dimensional graphs or charts is discouraged unless the addition of the third dimension gives essential information. Illustrations not properly prepared may cause delay in the production of the paper and may be returned to the author for revision.

Figure Legends
Figure legends should be typed double-spaced on separate pages and should contain a brief title and explanation of the figures, including magnification and stain used for photomicrographs.

Permission
Authors must obtain permission if required for reproduction of figures or tables from copyrighted (previously published) material. Written permission must be obtained from the publisher of the journal or book concerned. The publication from which the figure or table is taken must be listed in the reference section. Within the legend of a reprinted table or figure should appear the following: "Reprinted with permission" along with the appropriate reference. All permission listings must be shown in the submitted manuscript; they cannot be entered on proofs.(Click here for the Permissions form.)

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES
Authors must send the final, accepted version of their manuscript on disk to the editorial office or via e-mail to mjm@AlphaMedPress.com.

Storage medium: 3 1/2" floppy or ZIP disk in IBM MS-DOS or Windows format. Macintosh format may also be used, for tables and figures only.

Software: Microsoft Word is preferred; however, we can accept most other word processing programs. If not submitted in Microsoft Word, rich text format is preferred.

Format: Avoid complex format/style or automatic formatting features. Bold and italics are permitted.

Illustrations: Submission of electronic illustrations is preferred, but not required. Submit line art, grayscale, and color figure illustrations on Iomega zip disks in .EPS or .TIF format. All scans, files, graphics, and output settings should be at 300 DPI for halftones and 1,200 DPI for line art. Color proof required. Laser or inkjet proofs (such as Iris) are acceptable but not recommended for color accuracy. PowerPoint figures are not acceptable either for the print or online version. Chromalin or Color keys are also acceptable but not recommended for color accuracy. For close color match at press a Matchprint or a Halftone SWOP-compliant digital proof is recommended.

Disk label: Indicate on the disk the author's name, file name, and word processing software used.

Paper copy: The hard copy of the manuscript must match exactly the data contained on the computer disk or in the electronic file sent via e-mail. In case of any difference between the two, the disk will be considered the definitive version.

Version: Submit only the final version of the manuscript, both on the disk and in the hard copy. Place references, tables, and figure legends at the end of the file.

THE ONCOLOGIST CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) ONLINE

Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are important to clinicians to maintain their currency with science and accreditation for both medical licensure and hospital privileges. Oncologists are now able to obtain category 1 CME credits through The Oncologist website. The overall objectives for selecting articles for CME are as follows:

• Articles that discuss new approaches to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of specific cancers
• Articles that review evolving topics in basic science which have clinical implications in cancer medicine
• Articles that are relevant to risk management, a specific area of emphasis required by some states for medical licensure

Three learning objectives are required with each manuscript submission. In the event that a manuscript is selected for The Oncologist's CME online program, these will be used as the learning objectives that the reader should expect to accomplish once they have successfully completed the specific CME activity.

VIDEOS
Videos for use on the website must be approved by AlphaMed Press and should be submitted in QuickTime format via e-mail. Length of the video should be limited to no more than one minute to prevent excessive download time.

To further control file size, it is recommended that authors use QuickTime's "compress" option when preparing files. AlphaMed Press may request revisions to the videos, and all video editing will be the responsibility of the authors.

INFORMED CONSENT
Appropriate institutional review committee approval must be stated in the Materials and Methods section for human or animal subjects involved in experimental investigations. If there is no provision for an ethics review committee, the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. A statement in the Materials and Methods section should also show how informed consent was obtained for human subjects. Such manuscripts must include a statement verifying that the human investigations were preceded by local institutional review board approval and, if appropriate, in accordance with an assurance filed with and approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

RECOMBINANT DNA RESEARCH GUIDELINES
Any recombinant DNA research must follow the National Institutes of Health guidelines and should be described within the manuscript.

CASE DESCRIPTIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
For manuscripts reporting on studies involving human subjects, signed consent statements from persons, parents, and/or legal guardians of minors who can be identified must accompany the manuscript at the time of submission. If a pedigree or family tree is depicted, a statement must be included verifying that written informed consent was obtained from each living individual represented and that the authors have not modified the pedigree or family tree in any manner to avoid identification of the subjects.

ANIMAL WELFARE
Manuscripts reporting on studies that involve experiments with animals must include a statement verifying that care of animals was in accordance with institutional guidelines.

CLINICAL TRIALS
Authors must comply with published CONSORT guidelines as described in JAMA 1996;276:637-639. The completed checklist must be completed and provided to AlphaMed Press along with the manuscript submitted. The recommended trial flow diagram should be presented as a figure.

DRUG NAMES
Generic names should generally be used, unless the trade name relates to the discussion.

DISCLAIMER
While the publisher and Editorial Board make every effort to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement appear in this journal, they wish to state that the data and opinions in the articles and advertisements herein are the responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publisher, the Editorial Board, and their respective employees, officers, and agents accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement. While every effort is made to ensure drug doses and other quantities are presented accurately, readers are advised that new methods and techniques involving drug usage described within this journal should only be followed in conjunction with the drug manufacturer's own published literature. It is the responsibility of the treating physician or other health care professional, relying on independent experience and knowledge of the patient, to determine drug dosages and the best treatment for the patient. This is particularly serious if the agent to be administered is a new one or one that is infrequently used. Because of the uniqueness of each patient and the need to take into account a number of concurrent considerations, this information should be used by physicians only as a general guide to determining the best treatment for each patient.