Journal profile · Oncology
Cancer Letters
ISSN 0304-3835 · eISSN 1872-7980 · Elsevier Ireland Ltd · NETHERLANDS · Biweekly · Founded 1975
Cancer Letters: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 11.71; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,960; median 149 days to acceptance (97 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 52.27%; 598 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cancer Letters is published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism, Cancer-related Molecular Pathways and Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, together about 18.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cancer Research. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
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From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Oncology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.2%
- Cancer-related Molecular PathwaysMedicine6.1%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.8%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.8%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Carcinogens and Genotoxicity AssessmentBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.3%
- Cancer Cells and MetastasisMedicine5.1%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 11.71LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 15.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 161LetPub ·
- h-index
- 270OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 13,334OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 10.53OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 493LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 19,236 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 478 | 197 | 499 |
| 2025 | 598 | 268 | 4,831 |
| 2024 | 629 | 307 | 12,623 |
| 2023 | 375 | 129 | 10,436 |
| 2022 | 366 | 126 | 11,948 |
| 2021 | 472 | 172 | 22,080 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
149 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 113 days – 176 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 1 days (97 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 153 days
- Sample
- 97 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,202 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2.7 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 52.27%LetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,960 / EUR 4,640 / GBP 3,970 / JPY 615,190 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ireland Ltd
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1975
- ISSN
- 0304-3835
- Electronic ISSN
- 1872-7980
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cancer Letters
What CAS zone is Cancer Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cancer Letters is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Oncology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cancer Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 11.71; CiteScore 15.4, h-index 270.
How long does peer review take at Cancer Letters?
Based on the dates recorded on 97 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 149 days (interquartile range 113–176 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.7 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 52.27%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Cancer Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cancer Letters is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Cancer Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Cancer Letters is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,960.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .