Purpose

Editors play a vital role in maintaining the scientific quality, integrity, and credibility of the Chinese Journal of Cancer Prevention & Treatment (CJCPT). They are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are fair, transparent, timely, and based solely on academic merit.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are expected to:

• Assess submitted manuscripts for relevance to the journal's aims and scope.
• Conduct an initial evaluation of scientific quality, originality, and compliance with the journal's submission requirements.
• Assign suitable reviewers with relevant subject expertise and oversee the peer review process.
• Make editorial decisions based on reviewers' comments, scientific merit, and ethical considerations.
• Ensure that all manuscripts are handled objectively, without discrimination based on nationality, gender, ethnicity, institutional affiliation, or personal beliefs.
• Maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer review process.

Decision-Making Process

Editorial decisions should be based on:

• Scientific significance and originality
• Methodological rigor
• Ethical compliance
• Quality of data analysis and interpretation
• Clarity of presentation
• Relevance to the journal's scope

Editors may request revisions, seek additional expert opinions, accept, or reject manuscripts based on these considerations.

Confidentiality

Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts and related correspondence as confidential. Unpublished information obtained during the editorial process must not be disclosed or used for personal or professional advantage.

Conflict of Interest

Editors should disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. An editor with a conflict concerning a submitted manuscript must withdraw from the editorial process, and the manuscript should be reassigned to another qualified editor.

Publication Ethics

Editors are responsible for promoting research integrity and addressing concerns related to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, image manipulation, authorship disputes, or other forms of research misconduct. Appropriate actions should be taken in accordance with internationally accepted ethical standards.

Communication with Authors and Reviewers

Editors should communicate decisions clearly and respectfully, provide constructive feedback, and ensure that authors and reviewers receive timely updates throughout the editorial process.

Timeliness

Editors should strive to complete editorial assessments and peer review management efficiently while maintaining the quality and integrity of the review process.

Compliance with International Standards

The editorial process is conducted in accordance with the recommendations and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other internationally recognized publishing standards.

Policy Review

This guideline may be revised periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, editorial best practices, and international ethical standards. Editors are expected to remain familiar with the most current version of this policy.