Journal profile · Multiple
Cancer & Metabolism
ISSN 2049-3002 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Founded 2013
Cancer & Metabolism: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.88; fully open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 147 days to acceptance (97 articles, last 24 months); 48 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cancer & Metabolism is published by BioMed Central and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism, Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer and Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism, together about 47.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aims Cancer & Metabolism aims to serve as a venue for publication of rigorous manuscripts investigating the links between metabolism and cancer. Our goal is to publish manuscripts that serve the cancer metabolism community: for example, by delineating new mechanisms into the control of metabolism in cancer cells or tumor stromal cells, identifying new relationships between circulating metabolites and cancer progression, or elucidating metabolic cross talk between different cell types within tumors. Rigor and reproducibility are central priorities for publication, and journal policies require experiments that are reproducible across multiple cell lines and, if applicable, with >1 genetic intervention as well as publication of all data relevant to the presented conclusions. Scope Cancer & Metabolism welcomes studies on all aspects of the relationship between cancer and metabolism, including: Molecular biology and genetics of cancer metabolism Whole-body metabolism, including diabetes and obesity, in relation to cancer Metabolomics in relation to cancer; Metabolism-based imaging Preclinical and clinical studies of metabolism-related cancer therapies. This non-comprehensive list is meant to provide examples of appropriate themes, and we welcome work that may fit the aims of the journal even if it does not fall into the above categories. Although novelty is not a requirement for publication, studies that are confirmatory of previous work should contain additional analyses or rigor beyond what has been reported in the literature. Please note, Cancer & Metabolism publishes solicited reviews from time to time but rarely accepts unsolicited reviews. Any author considering submitting a review should contact the Editors in advance. Examples of papers that are not in scope: Work that does not directly involve metabolites or metabolic pathways Bibliometric analyses Correlative studies, for example those assessing relationship between metabolite levels and disease metrics. Some exceptions may be made for datasets of unusual size, value, or scope, especially if there is additional analysis providing insight into the relationship between metabolism and cancer. Work lacking sufficient rigor. As a general principle, all findings should be repeated in 2 or more cell lines and genetic manipulation should include more than one sgRNA/shRNA and/or include appropriate cDNA rescues
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Kivanc BirsoyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 10%); most named United States 36, Mainland China 6, United Kingdom 4, Germany 2, Italy 2 (59 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology29.5%
- Metabolism, Diabetes, and CancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.3%
- Cancer, Lipids, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.6%
- Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Cancer Research and TreatmentsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Mitochondrial Function and PathologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
- Cancer Cells and MetastasisMedicine3.4%
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosisMedicine3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EmbaseCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 5.88LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 68OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 253OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 487,900Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 477 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40 | 40 | 14 |
| 2025 | 48 | 48 | 248 |
| 2024 | 40 | 40 | 455 |
| 2023 | 27 | 27 | 476 |
| 2022 | 24 | 24 | 761 |
| 2021 | 41 | 41 | 1,735 |
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 Crossref · to
147 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 98 days – 197 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 13 days (97 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 159 days
- Sample
- 97 articles with submission and acceptance dates (100 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 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 2,790 / USD 3,190 / GBP 2,490 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,190 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,490 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,290 / USD 2,990 / EUR 2,590 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,490 / USD 3,190 / EUR 2,790 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted7
- brief reportBrief reportLength not stated
- case reportCase reportLength not stated
- commentCommentLength not stated
- correspondenceCorrespondenceLength not stated
- meeting reportMeeting reportLength not stated
- methodologyMethodologyLength not stated
- researchResearchLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access licensing under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Cancer & Metabolism articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2013
- ISSN
- 2049-3002
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cancer & Metabolism
What CAS zone is Cancer & Metabolism in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cancer & Metabolism is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Cell Biology / Oncology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Cancer & Metabolism?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.88; h-index 68.
How long does peer review take at Cancer & Metabolism?
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 147 days (interquartile range 98–197 days); authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Cancer & Metabolism based?
Of the 59 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (36), Mainland China (6) and United Kingdom (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cancer & Metabolism?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cancer & Metabolism is indexed in SCIE and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Embase, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Cancer & Metabolism open access, and what is the APC?
Cancer & Metabolism is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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: .