Dissecting publication timelines: Insights from high-impact oncology journals.

Abstract

9037 Background: Efficient dissemination of research findings is critical in oncology, where timely access to new knowledge impacts clinical care and outcomes. This study analyzes publication timelines of high-impact oncology journals to identify patterns and determinants, including research categories and study designs. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study. Journals with the highest impact factors and available publication timeline data were included: Journal of Clinical Oncology, Molecular Cancer, Clinical Cancer Research, and Cancer Discovery. All articles published in 2023 were analyzed for submission-to-acceptance, acceptance-to-publication, and total publication times. Data were processed using SPSS, and statistical comparisons were made with the Kruskal-Wallis test (significance: p<0.05). Results: A total of 875 articles were analyzed. The overall median total publication time (TT) was 7.1 months (IQR: 5.7–8.9), with submission-to-acceptance (AT) and acceptance-to-publication (PT) medians of 4.8 months (IQR: 3.5–6.3) and 2.2 months (IQR: 1.6–2.6), respectively. Among journals, Molecular Cancer exhibited the shortest TT (median: 4.7 months; IQR: 3.1–6.6), while Cancer Discovery had the longest TT (median: 8.8 months; IQR: 6.8–10.6). Similarly, Molecular Cancer achieved the fastest AT (median: 3.9 months; IQR: 2.2–5.4) and PT (median: 0.6 months; IQR: 0.4–1.1). Conversely, Cancer Discovery recorded the slowest AT (median: 6.0 months; IQR: 4.5–7.8) and PT (median: 2.8 months; IQR: 2.4–3.2). In terms of research categories, blood cancer articles accounted for the largest proportion of publications (14.4%), followed by gastrointestinal cancer (13.9%). Articles in genitourinary (median TT: 6.4 months; IQR: 5.5–8.8) and cardiac cancer (median TT: 6.5 months; IQR: 5.9–6.9) categories had the shortest TT, while endocrine (median TT: 7.9 months; IQR: 5.6–10.9) and immunotherapy (median TT: 9.1 months; IQR: 6.8–10.5) categories exhibited the longest TT (p<0.05). Clinical trials were the most common study design (37.6%), followed by cross-sectional studies (19.5%). Systematic reviews had the shortest TT (median: 2.4 months; IQR: 1.9–9.2), while proof-of-concept studies required the longest TT (median: 9.5 months; IQR: 8.7–10.7) (p<0.05). Systematic reviews and database studies also had the shortest PT (median: 1.5 months), whereas proof-of-concept studies had the longest PT (median: 2.8 months; p<0.001). Conclusions: Publication timelines in oncology journals vary significantly by journal, research category, and study design. Molecular Cancer demonstrates the fastest publication processes, while Cancer Discovery exhibits the slowest. Genitourinary and dermatologic oncology categories, as well as systematic reviews, achieve the most expedited timelines, emphasizing the need to consider category and study design in publication planning.