EDITORIAL

Turning the page on 2024 – embracing open science

Mef Nilbert, Editor-in-Chief

Division of Oncology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

 

 

After an eventful 2023, Acta Oncologica turns the page to 2024 and welcomes a new era of scientific publishing with full and direct open access.

Acta Oncologica has, for 60 years, acted as a forum for scientific communication across the broad field of oncology. Our engagement in oncology ranges from cancer epidemiology and translational studies to clinical oncology and survivorship aspects. We publish original articles, short reports, reviews, commentaries on articles or hot topics, letters to the editor and editorials.

Acta Oncologica is a voice for cancer research from the Nordic region, while welcoming international contributions and offering global reach. To further support worldwide visibility and in keeping with the open science trend in scientific publishing, all Acta Oncologica content will, from 2024, be based on open access publishing, making it freely available to the scientific community and the public.

The Editors and Board of Acta Oncologica are convinced that the publishing of scientific research without financial barriers will expedite the delivery of new knowledge and will result in more downloads, citations and impact for authors. We are also confident that the move to open access will contribute to accelerated discovery to the benefit of patients with cancer.

The arguments in favor of open access publishing are compelling. Authors can expect greater discoverability and retain the copyright of their articles, which allows permissive use and the widest possible dissemination of their research. Open access publishing also fulfills the ambitions and requirements of an increasing number of institutions and funding agencies. From the readers’ perspective, the transition will increase and equalize access to this information since the published versions of articles are immediately and permanently available online.

Open access publishing is based on a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC or CC-BY) License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Depending on the author’s choice between CC-BY-NC or CC-BY, published papers may or may not be reused for commercial purposes. The transition from a subscription-based model where the cost of publication was largely subsidized by library consortia and universities to a fully open access model implies that the cost of publication will be covered by authors, funders or institutions. All peer‐reviewed and accepted articles will be subject to an Article Processing Charge (APC) to cover publishing costs. APCs may be waived or reduced depending on institutional agreements, invited articles and in special article collections. Acta Oncologica will have fast production times facilitating rapid publication of articles that are immediately and freely available to read, download and share, and we are committed to working with our authors and readers to ensure publication of high-quality content based on non-profit principles.

In line with these changes, Acta Oncologica has entered a partnership with the non-profit publisher MJS Publishing (www.medicaljournalssweden.se) to publish the journal starting 2024. All articles are automatically deposited in PubMed Central upon issue publication. Article text, associated metadata, and supporting information are made electronically accessible. Acta Oncologica authors already hold the copyright to their published materials with no restrictions. Default publication license is CC-BY-NC, though authors may choose CC-BY in accordance with policies of institutions and funding bodies. We look forward to this new partnership with MJS Publishing and anticipate that we will continue to grow based on rigorous scientific standards and full accessibility.

Acta Oncologica has also transitioned manuscript handling system to Open Journals System (OJS) to ensure efficient manuscript handling and a comprehensive overview of editorial tasks from submission to publication. Policies, e.g. for authorship, editorial, peer-review and open access, are available at https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/authorshippolicy. The Editorial Board welcomes feedback from our community and encourages our authors and the research community to provide feedback on the new open-access procedures. We are keen to hear from you what is working well and what needs adjustment.

It is important to underscore that though our editorial policy, publication ethics and peer review policy remain unchanged, albeit updated. Acta Oncologica will continue to focus on high standards, rigorous evaluation, constructive advice, efficiency and rapid publication. I would like to express my gratitude toward our Advisory board members and external peer reviewers who are instrumental in maintaining efficient processes and assuring the highest standards of publications.

The Journal leadership remains the same. I am delighted to have a distinguished team of 12 Associate Editors including Karin Ekström Smedby and Mette Nørgaard with expertise in epidemiology, Lars Ny, Micaela Hernberg, Peeter Karihtala with expertise in translational and medical oncology, Mikko Tenhunen, Morten Hoyer and Petter Brandahl with expertise in radiotherapy and radiophysics, Marianne Grønlie Guren with expertise in Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, Christoffer Johansen and Anja Mehnert with expertise in survivorship aspects and our Statistics Editor Christian Dehlendorff. Administrative Editor Åsa Sjöblad will continue to run the editorial office with great dedication and a high level of service for authors, reviewers and editors alike.

The Acta Oncologica foundation also supports scientific communication through thematic symposia on various aspects of oncology. During 2023, Acta Oncologica has published two special issues based on research works from the ECRS symposia on cancer rehabilitation and survivorship and the BIGART symposia on radiotherapy. We encourage you all to look out, under our Special Collections heading. During 2024, Acta Oncologica also held the first Nordic Precision Medicine symposium in Oslo with high-quality presentations of precision medicine programs from Australia and the US to the Nordics.

Acta Oncologica’s social media attention is at the moment focused on LinkedIn where we aim to be more active. Please follow us at https://www.linkedin.com/company/acta-oncologica for posts on new research findings and notifications on upcoming symposia.

The continued support from our authors as well as the interest from new authors to publish in Acta Oncologica are important to us. Based on hard work from reviewers and editors, the journal has successfully developed and grown in article output and impact over the years. It is with true excitement that Acta Oncologica enters the next phase of open science publishing with immediate global reach. Welcome to join us in publishing impactful research that advances our understanding of cancer, influences future clinical oncology and can be translated into new treatments, better care and even better outcomes.