ASTRO invites submissions for new clinical research journal

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has launched a new original research in radiation oncology journal, Advances in Radiation Oncology (Advances), and the peer-reviewed publication is now online and accepting submissions at www.advancesradonc.org.

The open-access journal joins ASTRO's two sister peer-reviewed publications, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal) and Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO). The open-access platform allows the journal and all of its articles to be available for free online for anyone to download, read and share, increasing the reach of research.

"ASTRO is pleased that this new clinical research journal is now accepting submissions," said Bruce G. Haffty, MD, FASTRO, Chair of ASTRO's Board of Directors, and professor and chair of radiation oncology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey. "There's been growth in research in radiation oncology, and ASTRO wants to ensure that our members have access to top publishing options as well as a chance to publish their work in a gold open-access journal. The research and insights published in Advances should benefit patients through important clinical findings impacting patient care."

Advances' founding editor is Robert C. Miller, MD, MBA, of the Mayo Clinic in Florida and Rochester, Minnesota. The journal is set to publish its first papers later this year.

"Advances will complement the research published in the Red Journal and PRO by publishing original research studies on novel retrospective research, hypothesis-generating series, institutional series, essays on clinical experience, natural history of disease, analytics and systems innovations. We also welcome case reports that present a unique problem in the radiation oncology clinic," Dr. Miller said. "The journal will also include articles on practice transformation in radiation oncology, including aspects of health policy that may impact the future practice of radiation oncology and how information technology, such as data analytics and systems innovations, are changing practice."

Submitting an article for peer review is free. However, if accepted, authors will pay a fee for each manuscript accepted for publication to cover the costs of peer review, indexing, typesetting and online hosting in perpetuity. Fees range from $750 for a case report submitted by an ASTRO member to $2,000 for an original report from a non-ASTRO member. In addition, papers deemed out of scope by the Red Journal and PRO may be passed onto Advances for consideration, with the author's permission; the original paper and any reviews from Red Journal or PRO editors will cascade to Advances' editors.