Ten years ago, ASCO created the Journal of Oncology Practice to address a gap in the literature; there were no peer-reviewed journals dedicated to the practical issues of delivering quality oncology care. The original research and editorials published in JOP focus on care delivery topics such as practice operations, efficiency of service provision, health outcomes and health services research, quality of care and access to care, health policy and socioeconomics of cancer care, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, and use of technology.
Over the years, JOP has evolved and grown—from receiving a handful of pertinent research articles in its inaugural year to receiving approximately 400 submissions, including nearly 300 original reports, in 2015. Submissions were received from more than 20 countries, clearly emphasizing the global relevance of our content. The value of the journal to the oncology community continues to grow, as evidenced by increasing online use and growing readership scores.
Yet we know we can do better. Beginning in this, our 11th volume, readers will find significant changes to the content and format of JOP. Our efforts are designed to address the expressed needs of our readers for new, highly practical clinical content and for more accessible, synoptic presentation of the care delivery research. We believe the result will be a unique oncology journal, bridging the gap between clinical challenges and the mechanisms of care delivery.
Within this issue, readers will find three compelling clinical reviews, each with commentary highlighting key questions and opinions about a discrete clinical problem. Readers will appreciate recognized leaders in our profession weighing in on managing pancreatic cancer, dealing with liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, and potentially curing metastatic breast cancer. Four past ASCO presidents are contributing authors to this issue. We believe these and future reviews by authors who are master teachers in our field will be compelling reads for busy clinicians and, it is hoped, provide fodder for discussion.
JOP will continue to present original research focusing on care delivery—providing care delivery researchers a robust forum within which to share their work. Over the years, two-thirds of our original research has been published as online-only/Web-exclusive content. Now, all original research articles will be presented in print as short, structured summaries: ReCAPs (Research Contributions Abbreviated for Print). A ReCAP will distill the practical takeaways of an article into a single page and highlight a single table or graphic from the article. The full manuscript will be published online (http://jop.ascopubs.org). The online manuscript will be the citable article of record and the manuscript that will be identified by indexing services.
The journal will move from being published six times per year to once per month and will no longer be bundled with the Journal of Clinical Oncology but instead mailed independently. All of our content is peer reviewed. Nearly all of our content is published online ahead of print. With the monthly print schedule, we expect to be able to shorten the time from acceptance to publication, both online and in print.
To produce the reformatted and expanded JOP, new editorial expertise is needed. Dr. James Armitage, a former ASCO president who is well known to our readers, joins the journal as deputy editor. Drs. Apar Ganti, Sagar Lonial, and Arif Kamal join as associate editors. Drs. Armitage, Ganti, and Lonial will guide the development of the clinical reviews and commentary, in addition to providing extra expertise in the care delivery mission of the journal. Dr. Kamal will attempt to fill the shoes of longtime JOP Associate Editor Pat Legant, who is retiring. Congratulations, Pat!
Readers will appreciate the new look and feel of the journal. This is the result of a new collaborative publishing arrangement between the production teams of ASCO and Harborside Press, publishers of The ASCO Post.
Visible to readers will be the enthusiasm and excitement over the evolution of our journal. We undertake these changes—more frequent publication, expanded clinical content, synoptic presentation of original research, and new format—to meet the needs of our readers and provide our authors with a larger audience. Furthermore, initiatives are ongoing to improve our Web presence and the usability of our manuscript submission systems and editorial review tools. We encourage readers to subscribe to JOP podcasts, which highlight interesting and impactful content from the journal. We welcome comments—both formal letters to the editors and less formal feedback—on the journal at jopcontact@asco.org. ■
Reprinted from Cox J, Armitage J: Evolution. J Oncol Pract 12:1–2, 2016.
©American Society of Clinical Oncology 2016.
Dr. Cox is with Parkland Health System; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; and Dr. Armitage is with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
