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Of Looking Back and Looking Forward

Editor-in-Chief

Anniversaries offer an opportune time for reflecting on what has come before and on thinking about what lies ahead. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and this issue heralds the beginning of the 21^st year of publication of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). In looking back, we are all encouraged by the many outstanding accomplishments of the Society and its journal that have paved the way for the future.

From its inception, the strength of the JCO has been the strength of the ASCO membership—a global body of committed physicians dedicated to cancer research and patient treatment. The journal has published many seminal papers in our field; the most highly cited include clinical guidelines and reviews. These papers—together with the contributions of Editors Emeriti Joseph R. Bertino and George P. Canellos, numerous Associate Editors, and hundreds of volunteer Editorial Board members—have established JCO as one of the most highly regarded benefits of ASCO membership and as one of the highly respected medical journals in the world.

JCO's content is noteworthy, and support for the journal's quality continues as the highest priority for ASCO. In turn, JCO revenues are a major contributor of funds to other ASCO programs. For many years, ASCO worked with a commercial publisher to support the JCO editors and the JCO program, which thrived as a scholarly publication.

Setting New Benchmarks

Last year, ASCO made the decision to self-publish JCO. This move meant that, in addition to the individuals already on staff in the JCO Editorial Office, new positions were created to guide JCO's now independent publication. The goals were to support the continuing enhancement of the quality of the journal and define growth benchmarks for the Society's valuable asset. We hope readers did not notice many differences in that first year of self-publishing, and our goal is that JCO remain the most important resource in our clinical armamentarium and the one journal that every oncologist must read.

With the first year of self-publishing behind us, it is an appropriate time to look ahead, to build on the journal's strengths, and to create new opportunities for disseminating research. The 2003 publishing year was marked by continued improvement in the journal's peer review process benchmarks (Table 1).

Readers will no doubt have noticed that JCO has a new cover and a new look throughout. This redesign was undertaken after months of planning and with the primary goals of making the journal more contemporary, improving readability, and enhancing readers' ability to find sections and papers of interest to them. For the cover, there is continued use of elements from the original cover, such as the well-recognized blue, and added elements that enhance the usability of JCO. The golden color of the J, C, and O is meant to call attention to the abbreviation for which the journal is widely known, creating the ability to read the title both left to right (Journal of Clinical Oncology) and top to bottom (JCO). Also new to the cover are short titles of selected articles within the issue. The intent here was to help readers distinguish one issue from another and to highlight articles the editors believe are particularly noteworthy. The redesign celebrates the past and builds a bridge to easier-to-access, high-quality content.

The primary design and presentation differences within the pages of JCO are these: (1) Addition of a second color throughout the text. The intention is to create a more inviting reading environment, as well as to assist readers in identifying sections of particular interest. (2) New typefaces to make the journal more contemporary, using the most current graphic design principles. (3) Redesign of the Table of Contents. Readers are now able to see both the original research papers and the special articles, such as the popular Biology of Neoplasia section, at a glance, as well as see the starting pages more readily. (4) Redesign of tables. Large tables are a challenge to read, so the editors have added faint shading bars behind alternating sections to help read across rows. (5) Redesign of opening pages of each article. The new design allows for faster reading of the abstract, more easily identifiable affiliation information, and stronger association of JCO to individual articles.

New Editorial Board Display

Inside, readers may also take note of the new arrangement of the Editorial Board roster. The editors have made more visible the connection between the members of the Editorial Board and their expertise, so that authors will be better able to identify who on the board they might turn to for advice and insights as they prepare to submit their papers. The subject categories are consistent with the educational and scientific tracks ASCO uses to structure the Annual Meeting. The editors chose to take advantage of an existing format with which most readers will be familiar. In completing the categorization, the editors have also identified opportunities to expand the breadth and depth of the Board.

jco.org Redesign

Starting this month, readers will also note that jco.org, the official Web site of the journal, has received a facelift. At the 2003 Annual Meeting, the site underwent usability testing that highlighted a number of areas that could be improved. The result is a newly organized, better-functioning site that allows users to access more of JCO's content and to do so more readily. The advanced search functionality, for example, has been greatly enhanced through the use of buttons to narrow the search, as opposed to the former open boxes, which required much deciphering to use. Again, the goal is to have the same high-quality content, with better access.

Online Manuscript Submission

Among other changes scheduled for 2004 is the implementation of an online system for manuscript submission, peer review, and procedures for production to publication. To keep JCO competitive for the best manuscripts, the editors are currently testing software that—when fully implemented—is intended to continue to shorten a manuscript's time from submission to decision. In addition, among the many features offered, authors will be able to track the status of their manuscripts in both peer review and production. The editors look forward to launching this new service in the next several months.

Twelve New Issues in 2005

Many of the changes readers will be observing are in direct response to the comments received from a recent readership survey. In this regard, the editors would like to draw attention to two areas of content for which we are interested in increasing submissions, in order to represent the full scope of clinical oncology. Those two areas are cancer prevention and molecular oncology. ASCO has recently established a Cancer Prevention Committee charged with organizing and championing prevention research and education in accordance with its strategic plan. The JCO editors agree that this is a pivotal area of research that fits well within the journal's scope and are dedicated to enhancing prevention research within the pages of JCO.

Further, looking toward 2005, JCO will add 12 additional issues, six of which will focus on review articles on disease- and modality-specific topics. The first such issue, which will be mailed in January 2005, will be dedicated to prevention. Other topics planned for next year's review issues include breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers.

The other six new issues to begin publication next year will present original research and review articles on molecular oncology topics. The February issue will center on angiogenesis—arguably one of the most important new areas of cancer research. Future issues will include molecular diagnostics, staging, and cancer genetics. The new series will provide both original papers and review articles intended to place molecular oncology research into perspective for practicing clinicians.

In planning for the new series, however, the editors believe that research in molecular oncology has become increasingly relevant to the readers of JCO, and they therefore invite submissions, beginning now, of papers dealing with the broad range of molecular oncology research. Because this field of study is likely to take prominence in the years ahead, JCO is preparing to meet its readers' needs both now in 2004, in the pages of JCO, and in the future, in the new series. I am delighted to announce the addition of S. Gail Eckhardt, from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, as a new associate editor concentrating on translational research. She and Associate Editor Mark J. Ratain, from the University of Chicago, will both provide leadership for the new series, as well as for papers accepted for JCO this year.

Prevention and treatment of cancer are expanding into new and exciting areas of research. JCO will continue to serve as the single most credible, authoritative resource for disseminating significant clinical oncology research—as it has in the last 20 years and as it will continue to do in 2004 and the years ahead.

Author's Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest

The author indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

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