Focus and Scope

Archives of Breast Cancer (ABC) is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles on all aspects of breast cancer research, including the pathophysiology, prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, molecular and cellular biology, genetics, epidemiology, psychological issues, rehabilitation and quality of life. Although the main focus of the journal is breast cancer, some important topics among benign breast diseases and breast health such as breastfeeding will be considered for publication.

Open Access Policy

This quaterely published 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.

Authorship

An author is an individual who has significantly contributed to the development of a manuscript. International committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) recommends that authorship be based on the following four criteria:

1) Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

2) Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND

3) Final approval of the version to be published; AND

4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

-   Acknowledgement

Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged. Organizations that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.

-   Changes in authorship

Whenever there is a need to make changes in the authorship of a manuscript or a published article, the changes will be implemented according to committee on publication ethics (COPE) specification. Only corresponding authors can make request for a change in authorship. 

Ethics and Consent

-   Human and Animal Rights

Any investigations involving humans and animals should be approved by the institutional review board and animal care committee, respectively, of the institution where the study took place. Archives of Breast Cancer will not consider any studies involving humans or animals without the appropriate approval. A statement detailing this, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate, must appear in all manuscripts reporting such research. If a study has been granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption). Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor considers that the research has not been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework.

-   Consent to participate

For all research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study should be obtained from participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 16) and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript.

Competing Interests

Competing interests may be financial or non-financial. A competing interest exists when the authors’ interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by their personal or financial relationship with other people or organizations.

Further reading:

COPE - flowcharts on Conflict of Interest

ICMJE - Conflicts of Interest

STM – International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication

WAME - Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals

ABC