Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Molecular Cancer
ISSN 1476-4598 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2002
Molecular Cancer: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 42.26; fully open access; APC about USD 5,290; median 101 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 332 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Cancer is published by BioMed Central 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-related molecular mechanisms research, MicroRNA in disease regulation and Circular RNAs in diseases, together about 30.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cancer Research and Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Cancer is an open access, peer-reviewed journal interested in attracting high-quality original research and reviews that present or highlight significant advances in all areas of cancer and related biomedical science. Molecular Cancer promotes the exchange of ideas, concepts and findings in any area of cancer and related biomedical science, from a molecular point of view. Molecular Cancer is interested in articles from basic, translational and clinical research, opening new avenues for the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: cell and tumor biology, angiogenesis, animal models, metastasis, cancer antigens and the immune response to them, cellular signalling and molecular biology, epidemiology, genetic and molecular profiling of cancer and molecular targets, cancer stem cells, DNA damage and repair, cell cycle, apoptosis, molecular virology and vaccine- and antibody-based cancer therapies. Molecular Cancer provides an important forum for exciting findings in cancer-related research, presenting an unparalleled opportunity to communicate information to specialists and the public. The online appearance of Molecular Cancer allows the immediate publication of accepted articles and the presentation of large amounts of data and supplemental information to ensure that new research is disseminated as efficiently and quickly as possible to the scientific community.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief Christophe NicotPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 12%); most named United States 12, Mainland China 7, Italy 7, Germany 6, Spain 4 (57 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.5%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology10.2%
- Circular RNAs in diseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.7%
- Cancer Cells and MetastasisMedicine6.1%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.5%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.8%
- Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersMedicine4.6%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | 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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | 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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASPublisher 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
- 42.26LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 42.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 39.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 55LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 9.91LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 6.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 103LetPub ·
- h-index
- 294OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,394OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 29.15OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 1.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 292LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 7,400,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,044 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 267 | 267 | 495 |
| 2025 | 332 | 332 | 9,685 |
| 2024 | 285 | 285 | 15,590 |
| 2023 | 209 | 209 | 23,648 |
| 2022 | 229 | 229 | 29,447 |
| 2021 | 172 | 172 | 24,567 |
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
101 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 69 days – 137 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 126 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (679 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 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 16 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 4,390 / USD 5,290 / GBP 3,690 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 5,090 / EUR 4,190 / GBP 3,590 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 3,990 / USD 4,890 / GBP 3,490 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteExcerpts 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
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2002
- ISSN
- 1476-4598
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- 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 Molecular Cancer
What CAS zone is Molecular Cancer in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Cancer is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / 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 Molecular Cancer?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 42.26; CiteScore 55, h-index 294.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Cancer?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 101 days (interquartile range 69–137 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”. 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 Molecular Cancer based?
Of the 57 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 12%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (12), Mainland China (7) and Italy (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Cancer?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Cancer is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Molecular Cancer open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Cancer is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 5,290.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .