JAMA Oncology Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

JAMA Oncology requires structured abstracts for Original Investigations, Brief Reports, and Reviews, with a maximum of 350 words for original data and systematic reviews and 300 words for narrative reviews. The required headings for Original Investigations, in order, are:

This heading structure is shared across all JAMA Network journals and is different from the standard IMRAD format. Don't use "Background," "Methods," or "Conclusions" as standalone headings.

Importance should be 1-2 sentences establishing why this research matters clinically. Don't waste space on general cancer statistics. Focus on the specific gap your study addresses.

Design, Setting, and Participants must specify the study design (randomized clinical trial, cohort study, cross-sectional analysis, etc.), the setting (single-center, multicenter, population-based registry), and the participants (sample size, demographics, inclusion criteria). Include the study dates.

Results should report primary and key secondary outcomes with specific numbers. Include absolute numbers, percentages, hazard ratios or odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and P values. JAMA Oncology reviewers evaluate the abstract as a standalone document.

Conclusions and Relevance must connect findings to clinical practice. The word "Relevance" is there for a reason. What should clinicians do differently based on these results?

JAMA Oncology requires a "Key Points" box at the beginning of the manuscript. It has three components:

• Question: One sentence framing the research question

• Findings: One to two sentences summarizing the main result with key data

• Meaning: One sentence explaining the clinical significance

This is separate from the abstract and goes in its own section before the abstract. The instructions limit it to 75-100 words or less. Write it carefully. Many readers will only ever see your Key Points box.

JAMA Oncology allows a maximum of 5 display items (figures and tables combined) in the main manuscript. Additional items go in the eSupplement.

Figure requirements:

• Minimum resolution for publication: 350 ppi for photographs and illustrations, 600 ppi for line drawings

• Accepted formats depend on the figure type: .ai, .emf, .eps, .pdf, or .wmf (and .xls for charts) for graphs at revision and publication, and .eps, .jpg, .psd, or .tif for photographs

• At initial submission, figures may be embedded at the end of the manuscript file; before acceptance, each figure for the main article is uploaded as a separate file

• Avoid complex composite or multipart figures unless justified, and do not submit figures with more than 4 panels unless justified

Table requirements:

• Created in Word using the table editor

• Tables have a minimum of 2 columns, and comparisons must read across the table columns

• Do not draw extra lines or rules; the table grid displays the outlines of each cell

• Abbreviations defined in footnotes

• P values: report P<.001 below .001, the nearest thousandth from .001 to .01, and the nearest hundredth at .01 or above

• Footnotes use superscript letters (a, b, c), not symbols

For clinical trial figures: Kaplan-Meier curves should include the number of patients at risk at regular intervals below the x-axis. Forest plots should display individual trial effects and pooled estimates with 95% CIs. Waterfall plots for tumor response should include a reference line at the RECIST threshold.

JAMA Oncology uses the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition. This is the same style used across all JAMA Network journals.

Key formatting rules:

• Superscript citation numbers in text, placed after punctuation

• Number references consecutively in order of first appearance

• List all authors up to 6; for 7 or more, list the first 3 followed by "et al"

• Journal titles abbreviated per NLM conventions

• Include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number

• Use a period between journal abbreviation and year

Worked example (AMA 11th edition, with the common wrong form shown for contrast):

Correct (AMA): Smith AB, Jones CD, Williams EF. Immunotherapy response predictors in non-small cell lung cancer. *JAMA Oncol.* 2025;**11**(4):312-320. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.0123
Wrong (Vancouver/APA preset most reference managers default to): Smith, A. B., Jones, C. D., & Williams, E. F. (2025). Immunotherapy response predictors in non-small cell lung cancer.

JAMA Oncology, 11(4), 312-320.

The difference is what trips auto-exported bibliographies: AMA writes "Smith AB" with no commas or periods inside the name, keeps the period after the journal abbreviation, and includes the issue number in parentheses; the Vancouver/APA form your reference manager exports by default uses "Smith, A. B." and is wrong for JAMA Oncology.

Note specific AMA requirements: the DOI is included without a "doi.org/" prefix, there's a period after the journal abbreviation, and issue numbers are included in parentheses for JAMA Network journals specifically (this is an exception to the general AMA rule of omitting issue numbers for continuously paginated journals).

Both Zotero and EndNote have AMA-specific styles. Make sure you're using the 11th edition style, not an older version.

JAMA Oncology publishes online-only supplementary material, which this page calls the "eSupplement." It undergoes editorial and peer review with the main manuscript and, if the editors deem it appropriate, is posted online at the time of publication.

The eSupplement can contain:

• eFigures and eTables (labeled with the "e" prefix)

• eMethods (extended methodological details)

• eResults (additional analyses)

• eAppendix (trial protocols, additional documentation)

ESupplement items use the JAMA naming convention with the "e" prefix: eFigure 1, eTable 1, eMethods, etc. They should be compiled into a single document and uploaded as one file during submission.

For clinical trials, the instructions require the trial protocol, including the complete statistical analysis plan and any amendments, to be submitted with the manuscript; if the manuscript is accepted, the protocol and plan are published as a supplement.

JAMA Oncology's instructions ask for the manuscript as a Word document and say not to submit it in PDF format.

Word submissions:

• 10-, 11-, or 12-point font

• Double-spaced text

• Right margins unjustified (ragged)

• Each section (title page, abstract, text, references, figure legends, tables) starts on a new page, numbered consecutively beginning with the title page

LaTeX submissions:

• The instructions do not describe a LaTeX route

• If you must work in LaTeX, an AMA-style class is available on Overleaf so the reference output matches AMA Manual of Style before conversion

• Do not submit a PDF in place of the Word file

• Convert to Word before submitting, or ask the editorial office first

For oncology research, Word is the right choice in almost every case, because the instructions ask for a Word file and describe no LaTeX route. The field doesn't require heavy mathematical notation. If your paper has a biostatistical methods focus with complex equations, write to the editorial office before choosing LaTeX.

The instructions tell authors of research articles to follow the EQUATOR reporting guidelines, and ask for a completed checklist with the manuscript for trials (CONSORT), systematic reviews (PRISMA), and meta-analyses (PRISMA or MOOSE). The PRISMA checklist is used during review but is not published.

Take the time to fill in every row accurately.

For randomized trials, the CONSORT flow diagram is required and counts toward the 5-item display limit. Trial registration is a condition of consideration, and the registry name, registration number, and URL must appear at the end of the abstract and in the registration field on the online submission form.

JAMA Oncology has several requirements that differ from other oncology journals. Missing these is a fast path to administrative returns.

1. "Importance" heading in the abstract. This is the most common error for authors coming from other journals. JAMA Oncology (and all JAMA Network journals) use "Importance" instead of "Background" or "Introduction." Similarly, "Conclusions and Relevance" replaces "Conclusions."

2. Key Points box is required for research and review manuscripts. It's not the same as the abstract. It has three elements (Question, Findings, Meaning): Question and Meaning are one sentence each, Findings is one to two sentences, and the whole box is limited to 75-100 words or less.

3. The 5-item display limit is combined. Figures and tables together can't exceed 5 in the main manuscript. This is tighter than journals like Blood that allow up to 8 figures alone.

4. Data access on request. The instructions say that, if requested, authors should be prepared to provide the data and must cooperate fully in obtaining and providing the data on which the manuscript is based for examination by the editors or their assignees. Have your analysis code and dataset ready before submission.

5. Data sharing statement. A data sharing statement is required at the time of submission. The questions are in the submission system, and authors may choose to share or not to share data, with an option to explain why data may not be shared; the answers are published in a Data Sharing Statement in an online supplement.

JAMA Oncology uses its own online manuscript submission and review system (manuscripts.jamaonc.com). File preparation checklist:

For manuscripts targeting JAMA Oncology, four patterns generate the most consistent desk-rejection outcomes.

Structured abstract uses wrong JAMA network headings. JAMA Oncology uses the JAMA network structured abstract format: Importance, Objective, Design/Setting/Participants (or Exposure/Interventions), Main Outcomes and Measures, Results, and Conclusions and Relevance. Papers using Background/Methods/Results format or omitting the Importance and Conclusions and Relevance sections are returned before peer review. The Importance section must state why this oncology question matters now; the Conclusions must specify the clinical or policy implication.

Study scope is pre-clinical or laboratory oncology without clinical relevance statement. JAMA Oncology publishes translational and clinical oncology. Laboratory or animal studies submitted without patient tissue validation, a biomarker hypothesis connected to a trial design, or a mechanism that directly informs a treatment decision are desk-rejected for scope. Pre-clinical results must be explicitly linked to an ongoing or planned clinical application.

Trial endpoint selection does not prioritize overall survival. JAMA Oncology gives strong preference to studies reporting overall survival (OS) as the primary endpoint. Studies reporting progression-free survival (PFS), response rate, or biomarker endpoints without OS data, or without justification for why OS is not feasible (rare disease, follow-up time constraints), are frequently returned with requests for additional follow-up or for a pre-specified explanation.

CONSORT checklist absent or incomplete for oncology trial reporting. Oncology trials reported in JAMA Oncology must include a CONSORT checklist with line-number references, CONSORT flow diagram, and registered trial identification number (ClinicalTrials.gov or equivalent). Missing any of these three elements causes administrative return before review.

In our review work we check the abstract, the Key Points box, the endpoint definitions in the methods, and the CONSORT flow diagram against one another, because the overall-survival preference means a mismatch between the primary endpoint named in the abstract and the one in the registration record is the fastest route to a desk return at this journal.

A JAMA Oncology submission readiness check evaluates manuscript scope, abstract format, and trial reporting compliance against these desk-rejection patterns.