Cancer Research Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

AACR lists a 250-word abstract for Research Articles and Priority Reports and a maximum 200-word abstract for Reviews. It does not specify section headings for Cancer Research abstracts.

What AACR asks the abstract to contain:

• The purpose of the study and the experimental technique

• The results, with data such as the number of test subjects and controls, strains of animals or viruses, drug dosages and routes of administration, and magnitude of activity

• The data interpretations

Let the Results dominate. Include specific numbers (fold changes, p-values, response rates) rather than vague claims; AACR specifically asks authors to avoid statements such as "The significance of the results is discussed."

One Cancer Research-specific consideration: the journal publishes across both basic and translational oncology. If your study has clinical implications, state them explicitly in the Conclusions. If it's basic biology, connect it to the broader understanding of cancer mechanisms. The abstract is the most-read part of any paper, and Cancer Research editors evaluate it carefully.

Don't cite references in the abstract, and explain any abbreviation at its first mention in the abstract. Spell out gene names at first use (tumor protein p53 (TP53)) unless the abbreviation is a very common one (AACR's examples are DNA, RNA, SD, and SEM).

AACR lists 8 tables and/or figures for Research Articles and asks authors to keep the number of panels per figure to an absolute minimum.

Figure requirements:

• Accepted graphics file formats: eps, tiff, ai, psd, png, ps, or jpg (jpg is accepted for initial submissions only); PowerPoint files are discouraged but may be acceptable, and color images should be supplied in RGB

• Figures must be submitted in their final design and color format

• Text in a graph reduced to single-column width (7.94 cm / 3.125 in) must be no smaller than 6 pt and no larger than 12 pt

• Each figure needs a legend with a short title sentence and a description of the data; label and describe each panel, and include the number of technical and biological replicates

• A scale bar is required on all images except those for which scale is irrelevant, such as gel blots

• Gels and blots must include molecular size markers

Table formatting:

• Every table needs a descriptive title and enough explanatory information to be understood without the text

• Every column must carry a heading, with units given in the column heading when measurements are shown

• Number tables with Arabic numerals and mark footnotes with lower-case letters (a, b, c)

• Explain in a note after the footnotes any abbreviation used in the table that was not used in the text

• Do not include tables as part of a figure; upload complex or large tables as supplementary tabular data files

Supplementary material:

AACR accepts supplementary figures and tables, more detailed materials and methods, multimedia files, and other supplementary data. AACR does not publish a numeric limit, but supplementary data must fall within the conceptual scope of the main manuscript, must not repeat information in the main manuscript, and may not include additional supplementary results or discussion text. Each supplementary item must be cited at least once in the main text. Upload supplementary files separately and do not append them to the main manuscript file. Supplementary data are subject to the same scientific standards of peer review.

Cancer Research uses the AACR numbered reference format: references are numbered in the order of their first mention in the text, and only the assigned number is cited. AACR also says a manuscript's references need not be formatted according to journal style prior to submission.

In-text citation format:

• Number references in the order of first mention

• Cite only the number assigned to the reference

• Cite a preprint in the body of the manuscript where a reference number would appear, in the format (bioRxiv 2022.06.24.497515), and keep preprints out of the reference list

Reference list formatting:

• Numbered in order of first appearance

• References with more than 6 authors list the first 6 followed by "et al."; with 6 or fewer authors, all are listed

• Journal titles are abbreviated in AACR's examples (for example, N Engl J Med)

• Year follows the journal abbreviation

• Volume and page range follow the year

Worked example (AACR style, with the common wrong form shown for contrast):

Correct (AACR): Zhang Y, Liu T, Chen W, Patel SR. CDK4/6 inhibition reprograms the tumor immune microenvironment through interferon signaling. *Cancer Res* 2026;**86**:312-20.
Wrong (Vancouver/APA preset most reference managers default to): Zhang, Y., Liu, T., Chen, W., & Patel, S. R. (2026). CDK4/6 inhibition reprograms the tumor immune microenvironment.

Cancer Research, 86, 312-320.

The difference is what trips auto-exported bibliographies: AACR writes "Zhang Y" with no comma or period inside the name, abbreviates the journal, places the year after the abbreviation, and uses abbreviated page ranges (312-20, not 312-320), as in AACR's examples; the Vancouver/APA form your reference manager exports by default uses "Zhang, Y." and does not match those examples, which matters once you reach revision.

Example book chapter (AACR):

2. Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. The hallmarks of cancer. In: DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, editors. *Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology*. 12th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2025. p. 45-72.

Note the AACR style details: no commas between author surname and initials, the year appears after the journal abbreviation separated by a space, and inclusive page numbers are abbreviated (312-20, not 312-320). If you're using a reference manager, select "Cancer Research" as your output style. The generic "AACR" style may not match exactly.

Word is the standard and expected format for Cancer Research.

Word submissions:

• AACR's FAQ asks for 12 point Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman font

• Number all pages (AACR's style page asks for all pages and/or lines to be numbered)

• Title page as first page

• Arrange the manuscript as title page, text and references, tables, figure legends, and figures; for initial submission only, AACR encourages each figure and its legend to be presented together

• For revised submissions, figures may not be in the same file as the main text, and source files are required

LaTeX:

• AACR's list of manuscript file types names Word (doc, docx), Encapsulated Postscript (eps), Rich Text Format (rtf), and pdf (initial submissions only); LaTeX is not listed

• Revised submissions require original source files in Word or RTF format

• Simple chemical formulas and mathematical equations should be presented in a form that allows their reproduction in single horizontal lines of type

Cancer Research publishes primarily biological and clinical studies. Complex mathematical notation is rare. Use Word from the beginning.

1. Research Articles list a statement of significance. AACR lists a 32-word statement of significance for Research Articles. Use it to say why the study matters for the cancer research community, aimed at a broader oncology audience, not just your subspecialty. Think of it as your elevator pitch: what should a cancer researcher outside your field take away from this paper?

2. Title page requirements are extensive. The title page should include: a brief, informative title without abbreviations, a running title of no more than 60 characters, all author names and affiliations, the corresponding author's full name, mailing address, and email address, a conflict of interest disclosure statement, and other notes about the manuscript as a whole, including the word count and the total number of figures and tables.

3. AACR conflict of interest policy is strict. Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose upfront any relationship that could be construed as an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. The title page must carry a detailed disclosure statement, or the statement "The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest," and manuscripts will not enter peer review without it. If a potential conflict is disclosed, notification concerning the relationship is published along with the article, and failure by any author to disclose a conflict can result in a ban on publishing in any AACR journal for a period of time.

4. Data and code sharing. AACR requires that all data sets analyzed in the manuscript be available upon request to editors, peer reviewers, and the community at the time of publication, and requires a Data Availability Statement in its own "Data Availability" subsection at the end of the Materials and Methods. Certain data must be deposited in a repository no later than submission of a revised manuscript, for example raw high-throughput sequencing data in SRA, ENA, another INSDC database, or GSA, and high-throughput functional genomics data in GEO or ArrayExpress. If custom software or code was central to the work, a Code Availability Statement is required, and AACR asks authors to use Code Ocean (integrated with SmartSubmit) or, if that is not feasible, GitHub.

5. Reporting guidelines apply. Authors must follow the guideline for their study design: CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for meta-analyses and systematic reviews, and STARD for diagnostic accuracy. AACR endorses the NIH Principles and Guidelines for Reporting Preclinical Research. Its policies ask for a cell line authentication and Mycoplasma testing statement in the Materials and Methods, identifying information for antibodies (RRID, catalog number, clone number), and adherence to the ARRIVE guidelines for animal studies.

6. References do not need journal formatting at submission. AACR says a manuscript's references need not be formatted according to journal style prior to submission, so spend first-submission effort on accuracy: verify every reference, check that each is cited in the text, and number them in the order of first mention.

A Cancer Research Article follows this structure:

The Introduction should be focused (3-4 paragraphs) and end with a clear statement of what the study tested or investigated. The Materials and Methods section must be detailed enough for reproduction and should include subsections for statistical analysis, cell line authentication, and animal study approval. The Results and Discussion are separate for Research Articles; AACR allows them to be combined in Priority Reports.

Cancer Research uses single-blind peer review through AACR's SmartSubmit system. The editorial process is structured:

1. Editorial triage: editors judge fit with the journal's scope and its expectations of scientific excellence, importance, and impact before sending to review

1. Peer review: AACR reports that more than 95% of peer reviewed manuscripts are reviewed by two or more independent reviewers, and that first decisions after peer review took a median of 35 days across its journals in 2024

1. Revision: revised submissions must adhere closely to the formatting and length recommendations and include a point-by-point response and a list of all changes

1. Acceptance or reject after revision: the handling editor decides whether the authors have suitably addressed the reviewers' concerns

AACR's public author pages give no triage rejection rate for Cancer Research. Your manuscript needs a compelling story with rigorous data to make it past the editors, so invest time in the abstract and the statement of significance.

For manuscripts targeting Cancer Research, four patterns generate the most consistent desk-rejection outcomes.

Abstract and significance statement do not carry the advance. AACR asks the abstract to outline the purpose of the study, the experimental technique, the results with specific data, and the data interpretations, and it lists a 32-word statement of significance for Research Articles. AACR specifically asks authors to avoid vague statements such as "The significance of the results is discussed." State the advance in cancer biology plainly, without clinical claims the data do not support.

Summary statements that do not match the figures. AACR's editorial team reserves the right to edit the title, abstract, and any article summary statement to improve clarity, brevity, and quality prior to publication, but the editors still read those summaries against the data. A summary that describes a conceptual take-home message the figures do not show is a weak start at triage.

In vivo data absent for mechanistic claims. Cancer Research reviewers apply a standard that mechanistic claims in tumor biology require supporting in vivo evidence (mouse models, patient-derived xenografts) alongside cell-line data. Cell-line-only studies that make broad cancer biology claims without in vivo validation are considered incomplete at this journal's impact level.

Scope is descriptive cancer biology without mechanistic resolution. Cancer Research is a high-impact mechanistic journal. Studies that report a clinical or epidemiological observation, a correlation between marker expression and prognosis, or a phenotypic screen without mechanistic follow-through are desk-rejected.

AACR's scope text says Cancer Research seeks manuscripts that offer "conceptual or technological advances leading to basic and translational insights into cancer biology." In our pre-submission review work, the fix is rarely cosmetic: we look at whether the figures and the Results actually carry a causal chain (perturbation, rescue, in vivo confirmation) rather than a description, because the Significance statement and the abstract are read against that evidence, and a mechanistic claim that the data do not support is the fastest route to a triage return at this journal.

A Cancer Research submission readiness check evaluates manuscript scope, AACR abstract format, and mechanistic completeness against these desk-rejection patterns.