Journal profile · Oncology
Cancer Research
ISSN 0008-5472 · eISSN 1538-7445 · American Association for Cancer Research Inc. · UNITED STATES · Semimonthly · Founded 1941
Cancer Research: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 21.4; hybrid open access; median 229 days to acceptance (121 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 30%; 8,266 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Cancer Research is published by American Association for Cancer Research Inc. 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 Genomics and Diagnostics, Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism and RNA modifications and cancer, together about 22.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cancer Research and Oncology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Cancer Research is the most frequently cited cancer journal in the world. The journal publishes original studies, reviews, and opinion pieces offering significance and broad impact to a diverse audience spanning basic, preclinical, clinical, prevention and epidemiological research. Cancer Research seeks manuscripts that offer pathobiological and translational impact to inform the personal, clinical, and societal problems posed by cancer. The main scope of the Journal is captured in its primary subsections, which focus on molecular and cellular pathobiology, tumor and stem cell biology, therapeutics and targets, microenvironment and immunology, prevention and epidemiology, and integrated systems and technology.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Oncology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer Genomics and DiagnosticsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.3%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.8%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.2%
- Cancer Research and TreatmentsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersMedicine5.2%
- Cancer Cells and MetastasisMedicine5.1%
- Cancer-related Molecular PathwaysMedicine4.7%
- Advanced Breast Cancer TherapiesMedicine4.4%
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 1 |
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
- 21.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 17LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.35LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.93LetPub ·
- h-index
- 411LetPub ·
- h-index
- 471OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 18,712OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 35.17%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 291LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 159,506 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8,975 | 190 | 533 |
| 2025 | 8,266 | 256 | 4,875 |
| 2024 | 11,114 | 302 | 11,572 |
| 2023 | 8,734 | 321 | 18,224 |
| 2022 | 7,739 | 403 | 21,108 |
| 2021 | 5,334 | 467 | 31,654 |
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
229 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 186 days – 273 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 3 days (54 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 232 days
- Sample
- 121 articles with submission and acceptance dates (869 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 2.5 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 30%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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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
- American Association for Cancer Research Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1941
- ISSN
- 0008-5472
- Electronic ISSN
- 1538-7445
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cancer Research
What CAS zone is Cancer Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Cancer Research is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 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 Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 21.4; CiteScore 17, h-index 471.
How long does peer review take at Cancer Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 121 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 229 days (interquartile range 186–273 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.5 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 30%”. 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 Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cancer Research is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Cancer Research open access, and what is the APC?
Cancer Research is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .