Editorial Policies

Aims and Scope

The primary goal of the journal "Oncopathology" is to bring together pathologists, geneticists, cytologists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, and other specialists working in various regions of Russia and neighboring countries, who can share their research results and practical experience. The journal also aims to support the continuing medical education of specialists involved in the diagnosis and treatment of tumors of various localizations and to summarize available information in the field of oncopathology. "Oncopathology" is a peer-reviewed publication. Its editorial board includes specialists in the diagnosis of tumors of various organ systems, who are well-respected by their colleagues in Russia and abroad, as well as members of international societies and committees. The journal features sections such as lectures, original articles, case studies, and reports on major national and international events.

Peer Review Process

All articles submitted to the editorial board of the journal "Oncopathology" undergo mandatory blind peer review (the reviewer does not know the authors of the manuscript, the authors of the manuscript do not know the reviewers).

1. Articles are reviewed by members of the editorial board, as well as invited reviewers—leading experts in the relevant field of medicine who hold at least a doctorate and who have no scientific, financial, or other relationship with the authors or the journal's editorial board. The decision to select a reviewer to review an article is made by the editor-in-chief and deputy editors. The review period is 10-15 days, but it may be extended at the reviewer's request.

2. The review process is confidential. Reviewers are informed that the manuscripts submitted to them are the authors' intellectual property and are classified as confidential information. Reviewers are not permitted to make copies of the manuscript for their own use. A breach of confidentiality is possible only in the event of a claim of inaccuracy or falsification of the materials. The author of the work being reviewed is given the opportunity to review the review.

3. Each reviewer has the right to refuse to review in the event of a clear conflict of interest that affects the perception and interpretation of the manuscript materials.

4. Based on the review of the manuscript, the reviewer makes one of the following recommendations (each reviewer’s decision is justified): 1) the article is recommended for publication in its current form; 2) the article is recommended for publication after correction of the deficiencies noted by the reviewer; 3) the article requires additional review by another specialist; 4) the article cannot be published in the journal.

5. If the review contains recommendations for corrections and revisions to the article, the journal's editorial board will send the review text to the author with a proposal to consider these recommendations when preparing a new version of the article or to provide a reasoned rebuttal (partially or completely). Revision of the article should take no more than 30 days from the date the author receives an email notification regarding the need for revisions. The author's revised article will be resubmitted for review.

6. If the authors refuse to revise their materials, they must notify the editors in writing of their refusal to publish the article. If the authors fail to return the revised version within two months of submitting the review, even in the absence of any information from the authors regarding their refusal to revise the article, the editors will remove it from the manuscript's registration. In such situations, the authors are sent a corresponding notice of the manuscript's deregistration due to the expiration of the revision period.

7. If the author and reviewers have irreconcilable disagreements regarding the manuscript, the editorial board reserves the right to send the manuscript for additional review. In conflict situations, the decision is made by vote at a meeting of the editorial board.

8. The decision to reject a manuscript for publication is made at a meeting of the editorial board in accordance with the recommendations of the reviewers. An article not recommended for publication by the editorial board will not be accepted for re-review. A notification of publication rejection and a copy of the review will be sent to the author by email.

9. After the journal’s editorial board has made a decision to accept an article for publication, the editors inform the author of this and indicate the publication dates.

10. The following articles will not be accepted for publication: 1) articles that are not formatted in accordance with publication requirements; or whose authors refuse to undertake technical revision of the article. 2) articles whose authors do not implement the reviewer's constructive comments or do not provide a reasoned refutation of them.

11. The editors send copies of reviews to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation upon receipt of a corresponding request.

12. Original reviews are kept by the journal’s editorial office for 5 years.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Indexing

Articles in "Head and neck tumors (HNT)" are indexed by several systems:

• Russian Scientific Citation Index (RSCI) – a database, accumulating information on papers by Russian scientists, published in native and foreign titles. The RSCI project is under development since 2005 by “Electronic Scientific Library” foundation (elibrary.ru).
• Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. The Google Scholar index includes most peer-reviewed online journals of Europe and America's largest scholarly publishers, plus scholarly books and other non-peer reviewed journals.
• VINITI RAS
• EBSCO
• Ulrich's
• iNeicon

Author Fees

Publication in the journal is free for authors.

The editors do not charge authors for the preparation, placement, and printing of materials.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Unpublished data obtained from submitted manuscripts may not be used in personal research without the written consent of the Author.

Information or ideas obtained through peer review that may be beneficial must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain.

Reviewers should not review manuscripts if they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or other organizations connected to the submitted work.

Borrowing and Plagiarism

Publication of works containing plagiarized text, ideas, and/or data is prohibited. Authors must submit completely original work for publication. References to other authors' work must be accompanied by citations to relevant sources; citations of previously published text must be in direct speech, with the original source indicated. When reviewing an article, the journal's editorial board checks the material using the Antiplagiat and Google Scholar systems. If unauthorized text or graphic elements are found, or if the originality score is low, the editors reserve the right to require corrections from the authors or refuse publication. Plagiarism is also identified through open peer review and after publication, upon reader request. If unauthorized plagiarism is discovered, the editors act in accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). An article containing plagiarism may be retracted even after publication.

Article Retraction

According to the rules of the Council on Scientific Publication Ethics of the Association of Science Editors and Publishers, the grounds for retracting an article are: 1) detection of plagiarism in the article; 2) detection of falsifications in the work (for example, manipulation of experimental data); 3) detection of serious errors in the work that call into question its scientific value; 4) incorrect list of authors; 5) duplication of an article in several publications; 6) republication of an article without the author’s consent; 7) concealment of a conflict of interest and other violations of publication ethics; 8) failure of the article to undergo the peer review procedure.

After deciding to retract an article, the editors inform the authors of their decision, stating the reason for the retraction and the date of retraction. The article remains on the journal's website as part of the corresponding issue, but is marked "Retracted" with the retraction date (the mark appears above the article text and in the issue's table of contents). A notice of the retraction is posted in the website's news section. The editor-in-chief also submits information about the article's retraction to all online libraries and databases in which the journal is indexed.

Preprint and Postprint Policy

When submitting an article, the author must confirm that the article has not been published or accepted for publication in another scientific journal. When referencing an article published in the journal "Oncopathology," the publisher requests that a link (the full URL of the material) be included to the journal's official website. Articles previously posted by authors on personal or public websites not affiliated with other publishers are eligible for consideration.

Sources of Income and Advertising Policy

The journal's sources of income include reprints, organizational support, and advertising. Advertising in the journal and on its website is linked to its content. Advertising does not influence editorial decisions in any way. For questions about collaboration and advertising, please contact the project manager.