Editorial

Main topic - review articles on a specific topic

Review articles – comprehensive overview of current issues in the field of epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases – max. of 9 pages including attachments and references. In the case of extensive topics, it is possible, after consultation with the editorial team, to divide the manuscript into several parts.
Structure of a review article: abstract, key words, introduction, internal division into smaller sections or subsections, conclusion, references.

Please, write the article focus on its practical use for oncologists and specialists from other disciplines interested in oncology.

Original articles and case reports – practical experiences, own observations and specific treatment procedures presented in the form of a publication – max. of 7 pages, including attachments and references.
Structure of an original article: abstract, key words, introduction, material and methods or patient cohort and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references.
Structure of a case report: abstract, key words, introduction, description of the individual case (case report), discussion, conclusion, references.

The article should include information on why the case report deserves publication.

Drugs and drug groups – current information on pharmacotherapy options in oncology (drug profiles of new molecules, expanded indications etc.) – max. of 5 pages
Structure of article: introduction, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, mechanism of action, toxicity, conclusion

Events – reports and observations from professional (domestic and international) oncology events - 3 – 4 pages

Information and comments – introduction of interesting projects, studies, observations from domestic and international professional literature, reports, comments…

• Title of an article in Slovak and English - up to 10 words, capturing the essence of the article
• Full name of the main author with titles, affiliation, complete address including phone and email contact
• Full names of co-authors with titles and their affiliations
• Summary of the submitted article in Slovak and English + at least 5 keywords in both languages. The summary is prepared only for review articles, original papers or case reports, within a range of 200 - 300 words

Review articles: without breakdown

Original articles: the summary should be divided into sections: Purpose/Introduction; Materials and Methods or Patients and Methods, Results, Conclusion.

The main text is divided into sections: introduction, materials and methods/patients and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.

The English summary should be divided and adapted to the nature of the article, just like in the Slovak language: Purpose; Materials and methods or Patients and methods; Results; Conclusion.

Case reports: the summary should be divided into sections: Objective/Introduction; Case; Conclusion.

The main text is divided into sections: introduction, case report, discussion and conclusion.

The English summary should follow the same format as the Slovak language. In case reports: Objective/Introduction, Case, Conclusion.

• Text + tables or graphs and images as separate appendices (either included at the end of the text or in separate files) in the best possible quality and in sufficient resolution, accompanied by accurate captions
  Tables must be editable – Word, Excel format (not in bmp, jpg, etc. formats)

Considering that the journal is intended for Slovak readers – oncologists, all images, tables and graphs must be translated into Slovak!

• List of references – up to 20 citations, presented in round brackets and numbered chronologically in the text based on their first occurrence

The article should conclude with concise conclusions, recommendations, and procedures.

Priority will be given to papers that cite and reference articles published in the journal Onkológia.

• Font: Times New Roman, size 12, line spacing 1.5,
• The total number of pages depending on the type of contribution.
• Divide the article into smaller and more readable sections, and use subheadings and simple divisions if necessary. For original articles and case reports, adhere to the required structure described in manuscript requirements.
• All abbreviations must be explained at their first use.
• Parenthesis should always be round ().
• Domesticated foreign expressions should be written either in accordance with the rules of Slovak orthography or in their original Latin form.
• In the text, clearly indicate references to all graphical representations, tables, or charts, which should be created using MS Word or MS Excel.
• For all types of contributions (reviews, original articles, and case reports), please ensure that the text adheres to the general rules of formal Slovak language appropriate for professional publications. For instance, when describing a case in a case report, use complete sentences with full verbs, not in a bullet-point or list format as in laboratory test results. Texts intended for review must be grammatically and stylistically correct.

Bibliographic references in the text should be indicated by a number in round brackets and in the order they are first cited (not alphabetically). Subsequent references to the same source should be indicated by the same number as the first mention.

In the reference list at the end of the text, list up to 3 authors. If there are more than 3 authors, list the first 3 authors followed by the abbreviation „et al.”

When citing authors in the text (e.g., Culine et al. compared…), use the abbreviation „et al.” consistently throughout the text and in the reference list. Also, include a reference to the list or references after the cites author (e..g., Culine et. al. (15) compared…).

Avoid citing abstracts, unpublished observations, or personal communications. Prefer current citations (from the last 3 years).

The formatting of bibliographic references should follow the citation style used in the MEDLINE/PUBMED databases.

The editorial team recommends citing Slovak and Czech papers that address the specific issues. It is also highly recommended to include references to articles published in the journal Onkológia to enhance the professional level of this journal.

Examples of citation an article in the journal

• Gonsalves W, Ganti AK. Targeted anti-cancer therapy in the elderly. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2011;78(3):227–42.
• Sternberg CN, Petrylak DP, Sartor O, et al. Multinational, double-blind, phase III study of prednisone and either satraplatin or placebo in patients with castrate-refractory prostate cancer progressing after prior chemotherapy: the SPARC trial. J Clin Oncol. 2009;27(32):5431.

Examples of citation an electronic article

• Wong KP, Lang BH. The role of prophylactic central neck dissection in differentiaded thyroid carcinoma: Issues and controversies [online]. J Oncol. 2011. Available from: <http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jo/2011/127929/>. Accessed June 18, 2011.

Examples of citation a monograph

• Prochotský A. Karcinóm hrubého čreva a konečníka. Bratislava, Slovakia: Litera Medica, 2006. 652 s.
• DeVita VT Jr, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, et al. CANCER. Principles & Practice of Oncology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011.

Examples of citation a book chapter or an article in the proceedings

• Nenutil R. Standardizace histopatologické diagnostiky kolorektálního karcinomu. In: Vyzula R, Žaloudík J, eds. Rakovina tlustého střeva a konečníku. Praha, Czech Republic: Maxdorf, 2007. 96–102 s.
• Enzinger FM, Weiss SW. Ischemic fasciitis (Atypical decubital fibroplasia). In: Sharon WW, John RG, eds. Soft Tissue Tumors. 4th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 2001. 276–278 p.

Acknowledgement

At the end of your article, you may include acknowledgements to grant agencies or other supporters of your manuscript.

Examples of phrasing for acknowledgements:

This article was supported by the grant from the Agency for Research and Development under contract No. APVV-0016-11 and the grant from Comenius University under contract No. UK/470/2012

This article was conducted with the support of the project funded by the European Union's Structural Funds. Project code: ITMS:26220220163.

You may also express gratitude to collaborators who are not listed as co-authors of the article.

• A portrait photograph of the author (if there are multiple co-authors, only the main author, or the author whose contact will be provided at the end of the article).
• A statement declaring that the article has not been published or offered for publication in any other journal.
• A statement confirming that the author and co-authors have familiarized themselves with the publication ethics guidelines (available in full on the journal's website) and that there are no obstacles to the publication of the article.
• A declaration of any potential conflicts of interest by the author.

Decision-making regarding publishing of articles: The editor of the Solen company journals is responsible for decisions on which of the accepted articles will be published. The final decision on publication lies with the editorial board based on independent, double-blind review reports. The editor acts in compliance with the policy of the editorial board of the journal and with the legislation that comes into effect in the case of libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult their decisions with the editorial board or with the reviewers.

Fair play: The editor evaluates the manuscript according to its intellectual content regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnical origin, citizenship and nationality, or the authors` philosophies.

Discrecy/secrecy: Neither the editor nor any member of the editorial board is allowed to disclose any information on the received manuscript to anyone else than to the respective author, the reviewer, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors and to the publisher.

Review reports: A double-blind review process helps to increase the scientific quality of the articles and helps the editor in making decisions on inclusion of the article for publication.

The reviewer`s eligibility: The reviewer should notify the editor if they do not feel sufficiently qualified for the article evaluation, and thus excuse themselves from the review process.

Discrecy/secrecy: Every manuscript received for a review must be regarded as a confidential document and must not be shown nor discussed with persons not involved in the publishing process.

Objectivity: Reviews must be carried out objectively. Personal critical statements against the author`s personality are not acceptable. The reviewers are to state their opinions clearly and back them up with relevant arguments.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Information or ideas and thoughts attained from the reviews must be regarded as confidential and must not be used for personal benefit. The reviewers should not evaluate a manuscript in which a conflict of interest occurs, rising from competitivness, created in cooperation or other relationship or connections with the author, company, or institutions connected with the article.

Quality of the article: Each article must include detailed information and references that enable the reader to replicate the data. An article based on a research must include an exact record of the presented piece of work as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The condition for publishing clinical research is that the methods used must comply with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and are approved by a relevant ethical committee. The same rules must be respected also by a work based on experiments on animals. Improper or knowingly inaccurate statements mean unethical behavior and are not acceptable.

Originality and plagiarism: Only original works and articles, which have not been published anywhere else yet, nor have they been sent for publication to any other journal, are accepted for publication. If the author uses a work or words of any other author, this must be properly cited. If a picture documentation published anywhere else is re-printed, the original source must be cited and a written consent of the owner of the exclusive rights must be properly presented. Any form of plagiarism represents unethical publication behavior and will not be acceptable.

Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication: Generally speaking, the author should not publish a manuscript describing the same research in more than one journal or an original publication. Accepting the same manuscript into more than one journal shows unethical behavior and is not acceptable.

Acknowledgment of sources: Authors should cite those publications that might be significant for determining the nature of the article. Information gained on a personal basis, eg. in a conversation, correspondence, in a discussion with third parties, cannot be used or published without the statement (written consent) of the source.

Authorship of the article: The authorship should only relate to those who significantly contributed to the concept, design, execution, or interpretation of the presented study or article. All those who contributed to the article or study should be cited as co-authors. Those who participated in partial and important aspects of the particular project (research, article) should be cited or recorded as contributors. The author will ensure that all suitable co-authors are included in the article and that they have approved the final version and agreed on its submission for publication.

Conflicts of interest: In their manuscript, the authors must state all the financial or other significant conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as impacting the results or interpretation of the manuscript. All the resources of the financial support must be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works: If the author finds a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their duty to notify the fact to the editor immediately and to become involved in removal or correction of the article.