Cancer Cell SJR and Scopus Metrics: What the Numbers Actually Tell Authors
Cancer Cell's Scopus profile is unusually strong for an oncology journal. The useful question is not whether the journal is elite, but whether your manuscript is really Cancer Cell-shaped.
Senior Researcher, Oncology & Cell Biology
Author context
Specializes in manuscript preparation and peer review strategy for oncology and cell biology, with deep experience evaluating submissions to Nature Medicine, JCO, Cancer Cell, and Cell-family journals.
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Quick answer: Cancer Cell has one of the strongest Scopus profiles in oncology biology. Current Scopus-linked browser data reports a 2024 SJR of 19.027, a CiteScore of 57.7, and Q1 standing near the top of oncology-related categories. That confirms major prestige, but the submission decision still depends on whether the manuscript is really mechanistic and translational enough for Cancer Cell rather than merely important in oncology.
The core metric picture
Metric | 2024 value | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
SJR | 19.027 | Prestige-weighted influence is exceptional for oncology |
CiteScore | 57.7 | Four-year citation performance is elite |
SNIP | 5.728 | Field-normalized impact is also very strong |
Oncology rank | 6 / 415 | The journal sits near the top of the field |
Quartile | Q1 | The journal remains firmly top-tier |
JCR context | Impact factor 44.5 | Web of Science tells the same flagship story |
The useful reading is that Cancer Cell is not just a prestigious cancer title. It is a central journal in the oncology biology citation network.
What the metrics actually help with
They help explain where the journal sits:
- above most oncology journals in biology-weighted influence
- strongest when the paper is mechanistic, translational, and disease-consequential
- different from JCO or Lancet Oncology, which dominate the clinical lane instead
That is useful when your paper sits between oncology biology and clinical oncology.
What the metrics do not answer
They do not tell you:
- whether the manuscript is too clinical for Cancer Cell
- whether the mechanism is complete enough
- whether the translational consequence is actually visible in the evidence
- whether the paper is still better suited to a specialty cancer journal
Those are still the real fit questions.
Why the profile matters for authors
At this SJR level, Cancer Cell can be extremely strict about editorial shape. The journal's profile fits a very specific product:
- mechanistically deep cancer biology
- translational relevance that is already visible
- papers that change how researchers think about a tumor system, therapy, or pathway
- enough breadth that the work travels beyond one tumor niche
That is why the numbers are useful. They show the journal has enough real authority that it does not need to indulge half-finished oncology stories.
What should drive the submission decision instead
The better question is whether the manuscript is genuinely a Cancer Cell paper.
That is why the better next reads are:
- Is Cancer Cell a good journal?
- Cancer Cell submission guide
- Cancer Cell submission process
- Cancer Cell acceptance rate
If the paper is primarily about clinical practice, the metrics do not make Cancer Cell right. If it is still descriptive rather than mechanistic, the metrics do not rescue that either. They only explain why the journal can reject a lot of impressive oncology work.
Practical verdict
Cancer Cell has a genuine flagship Scopus profile for oncology biology. That makes it an exceptional target when the manuscript is mechanistically strong, translationally meaningful, and broad enough to matter across cancer research.
But the takeaway should still be about fit, not badge value. If the paper is actually more clinical, narrower, or less complete than that, the metric is already warning you. A free Manusights scan is the fastest way to pressure-test that before submission.
- Is Cancer Cell a good journal?, Manusights.
Sources
- 1. Cancer Cell journal browser entry, University of Amsterdam journal browser.
- 2. Cancer Cell journal page, Cell Press.
Reference library
Use the core publishing datasets alongside this guide
This article answers one part of the publishing decision. The reference library covers the recurring questions that usually come next: how selective journals are, how long review takes, and what the submission requirements look like across journals.
Dataset / reference guide
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.
Dataset / benchmark
Biomedical Journal Acceptance Rates
A field-organized acceptance-rate guide that works as a neutral benchmark when authors are deciding how selective to target.
Reference table
Journal Submission Specs
A high-utility submission table covering word limits, figure caps, reference limits, and formatting expectations.
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