Journal profile · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cancer Research
Frontiers in Oncology
ISSN 2234-943X · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Oncology: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.36; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 68 days to acceptance (198 articles, last 24 months); 4,580 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Oncology is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers, Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis and Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging, together about 22.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Oncology is a broad-scope, multidisciplinary journal covering all areas of cancer research to advance our knowledge of cancer epidemiology to improve diagnosis, therapeutics, and management strategies. The journal is led by Field Chief Editor Prof Giuseppe Giaccone (Cornell University and Amgen, USA), and Assistant Field Chief Editor Prof Sharon Pine (University of Colorado, USA). Indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, Web of Science (SCIE), and the DOAJ, Frontiers in Oncology welcomes clinical and experimental research contributions in the various domains of cancer research, which bridge the gap between basic research and clinical applications. Topics include, but are not limited to: breast cancer cancer cell signaling cancer epidemiology and prevention cancer genetics cancer imaging and image-directed interventions cancer immunity and immunotherapy cancer metabolism cancer molecular targets and therapeutics gastrointestinal cancers genitourinary oncology gynecological oncology head and neck cancer hematologic malignancies molecular and cellular oncology neuro-oncology and neurosurgical oncology pediatric oncology pharmacology of anti-cancer drugs radiation oncology skin cancer surgical oncology thoracic oncology. In particular, the journal welcomes submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notable SDG 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Frontiers' journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising solely of bioinformatics analyses, computational studies of public data, or findings from Mendelian Randomisation studies must include appropriate validation. Acceptable forms of validation include: independent clinical or patient cohorts that are not publicly available biological validation of the main conclusions, either in vitro or in vivo multi-database queries (bibliometric studies only) Manuscripts lacking robust validation will be considered unsuitable for publication, as they do not meet the required evidence standards necessary for scientific conclusions. Please refer to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy, for more information. Frontiers in Oncology is committed to advancing developments in the field of cancer research by allowing unrestricted access to articles, and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Frontiers in Oncology is a member of the Committe
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cancer Research
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 9, Italy 3, Germany 1, Australia 1, Switzerland 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersMedicine8.9%
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosisMedicine6.9%
- Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical ImagingMedicine6.6%
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.9%
- Glioma Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine4.6%
- Lung Cancer Treatments and MutationsMedicine4.6%
- Lung Cancer Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine4.1%
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and PrognosisMedicine4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
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 | Oncology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCEmbasePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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
- 3.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 60LetPub ·
- h-index
- 211OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 16,765OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.68OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.96%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 4,322LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 38,918 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4,948 | 4,948 | 1,225 |
| 2025 | 4,580 | 4,580 | 11,216 |
| 2024 | 3,700 | 3,700 | 22,962 |
| 2023 | 4,977 | 4,977 | 49,472 |
| 2022 | 7,655 | 7,655 | 117,815 |
| 2021 | 6,012 | 6,012 | 137,946 |
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
68 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 44 days – 91 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (198 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 87 days
- Sample
- 198 articles with submission and acceptance dates (10,235 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 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 | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | Yes | — |
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)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted material from other sources. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY version 4.0 for articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
CrossMark policy to maintain content and alert readers to changes. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2234-943X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Oncology
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Oncology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Oncology is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Oncology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Oncology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.36; CiteScore 6.6, h-index 211.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Oncology?
Based on the dates recorded on 198 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 68 days (interquartile range 44–91 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Frontiers in Oncology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Oncology based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9), Italy (3) and Germany (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Oncology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Oncology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Oncology open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Oncology is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .