Over the past year,
ASCO News & Forum has celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Society’s flagship publication, the
Journal of Clinical Oncology (
JCO). During the past quartercentury, the Journal has established itself as providing the most innovative and clinically significant scientific research, a forum for addressing controversial topics in cancer care, and a valued source of oncology information for physicians, researchers, and health care professionals around the globe.
As the field of oncology evolves, so too does JCO, which serves as a living document that adapts to the needs of its readers. “Something that is considered ‘alive’ means that it is viable. It means that interest is maintained in it, and it means that interest is maintained in it all day, every day,” said Editor in Chief Daniel G. Haller, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania. “I think that describes JCO, quite frankly, to most hematologists and oncologists worldwide.” He cited growth in subscriptions, online readership, and citations in other scientific publications as evidence of JCO’s place in medical journalism.
Looking toward the future, “if the
Journal is going to be a living publication, it has to change and adapt,” he said. “We’ve broadened its scope from purely scientific articles and editorials to include Letters to the Editor, Reviews, Editorials, and other traditional sections of medical journals. As we bring in different readers, we will need to look at different measures of success.”
For example, although the
Journal’s impact factor (see below for more information) is based on citations in other journals of original clinical research, often involving very new therapeutic agents, much of the online readership is related to reviews and guidelines, which might be accessed by oncology caregivers, patients, insurance carriers, and government agencies.
To support this broadened perspective, readers will find two new columns in recent and future issues of the
Journal.
A new regular column, “Statistics in Oncology,” debuted in the August 1, 2008, issue of JCO. Although there are many academic journals devoted strictly to statistics, their articles tend to address subjects in a way that is highly theoretical. According to JCO Associate Editor Stephanie R. Land, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, statisticians working in cancer centers have questions that need practical, rather than purely theoretical, answers. “We would like to have a thoughtful debate, but not necessarily the kind of development that you would see in a statistics journal,” she said.
The content of the section will be relevant to both statisticians and clinicians, but Dr. Land emphasized that it will not be “Statistics 101,” nor will it replace trained statisticians in the research setting. “It is not intended to provide the information for a clinician to become his or her own statistician,” she said, “but to give a sense of what controversies might affect how a clinician or researcher would set up a study or look at data.”
The inaugural article in this section is “Blinded Independent Central Review of Progression-free Survival in Phase III Clinical Trials: Important Design Element or Unnecessary Expense?”, in which Lori E. Dodd, PhD, and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute explore the use of progression-free survival as a trial endpoint using relevant clinical examples. Future topics may include phase I and II trial designs, meta-analysis, genomics and molecular characterization of tumors, clinical trials of targeted therapy, adaptive designs, and surrogate markers, according to Dr. Land.
The series, she noted, was originally proposed by former JCO Associate Editor H. Samuel Wieand, PhD, who passed away before he could see the idea come to fruition.
Another new column, “Perspectives in Oncology,” debuted in the July 20, 2008 issue of JCO, and is meant to serve as a forum for oncology professionals and laypersons to express their opinions on establishing proper relationships with industry. But Dr. Haller is optimistic that the publication will continue to grow, evolve, and be relevant to the needs and concerns of the oncology community. “The future of the Journal is building on the successes of the past, and we are not afraid to take risks, understanding that what we do may or may not work. Each time we will reassess and evaluate what is successful,” he said. a wide variety of topics, including ethical, sociopolitical, economic, and survivorship issues.
Though both are forums, “Perspectives in Oncology” differs significantly from the established “Comments and Controversies” section in JCO. Although the latter typically features established researchers writing about science and clinical trials, the articles for the former are meant to be personal or topical pieces with a broad appeal.
“‘Perspectives in Oncology’ is not intended to settle or answer every question, but to raise awareness of issues—after all, even the most perfectly performed clinical trial doesn’t answer every question. I hope the articles are provocative and make people consider issues they might not have otherwise,” Dr. Haller said.
The first article was authored by cancer survivor, philanthropist, and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. His editorial, “Fighting Cancer is Everyone’s Obligation,” describes his personal experience during cancer treatment, which instilled in him a feeling of personal responsibility toward the eradication of the disease. This led to the creation of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and Mr. Armstrong discusses the activities and priorities of this organization in his article.
“We wanted a high-profile person to lead this column,” Dr. Haller said, “and we wanted it to address cancer survivorship, since there are 12 million cancer survivors in the United States alone. I hope everyone reads the piece—it’s beautifully written and has a very strong message about supporting survivorship in every venue possible.”
As JCO prepares for the next 25 years, it must continue to address complicated issues like conflicts of interest and establishing proper relationships with industry. But Dr. Haller is optimistic that the publication will continue to grow, evolve, and be relevant to the needs and concerns of the oncology community.
“The future of the
Journal is building on the successes of the past, and we are not afraid to take risks, understanding that what we do may or may not work. Each time we will reassess and evaluate what is successful,” he said.
JCO Impact Factor Increases to 15.484 from 13.598
ASCO is pleased to announce that the impact factor of the
Journal of Clinical Oncology has increased from 13.598 to 15.484, as reported by
Thomson Reuters in its
2007 Journal Citation Report. Impact factor is a measure of how often the average article in a journal has been cited within a given year.
Of the 132 oncology journals monitored worldwide, JCO ranks fifth. JCO ranks 50th among the 6,417 scientific journals surveyed, putting it in the top 1% of STM publications. JCO’s impact factor has increased an average of 1.8 points for three consecutive years.
JCO ranks second among oncology journals in total number of citations. Last year, 707 published JCO articles were cited at least once, for a total of 81,338 citations—almost 10,000 more than in the previous year. JCO accounts for about 10% of all oncology journal citations.
“I do not think that a journal of our breadth, utility for caregivers and patients, and visibility could have done better,” Dr. Haller said. “The success of the
Journal continues to be the measure of dedication of the editorial and production staffs, the Editorial Board members, and the hundreds of reviewers who bring fairness and quality to the editorial process.”
