Journal profile · Cell Biology
Molecular Cancer Research
ISSN 1541-7786 · eISSN 1557-3125 · American Association for Cancer Research Inc. · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2002
Molecular Cancer Research: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.72; hybrid open access; median 196 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 85 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Cancer Research is published by American Association for Cancer Research Inc. 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-related Molecular Pathways, Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism and Epigenetics and DNA Methylation, together about 22.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Cancer Research publishes articles describing novel basic cancer research discoveries of broad interest to the field. Studies must be of demonstrated significance, and the journal prioritizes analyses performed at the molecular and cellular level that reveal novel mechanistic insight into pathways and processes linked to cancer risk, development, and/or progression. Areas of emphasis include all cancer-associated pathways (including cell-cycle regulation; cell death; chromatin regulation; DNA damage and repair; gene and RNA regulation; genomics; oncogenes and tumor suppressors; signal transduction; and tumor microenvironment), in addition to studies describing new molecular mechanisms and interactions that support cancer phenotypes. For full consideration, primary research submissions must provide significant novel insight into existing pathway functions or address new hypotheses associated with cancer-relevant biologic questions.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Cell Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer-related Molecular PathwaysMedicine9%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.4%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.4%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Cancer Cells and MetastasisMedicine6%
- Ubiquitin and proteasome pathwaysBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- DNA Repair MechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Cancer Genomics and DiagnosticsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
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 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 5.72LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.76LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- h-index
- 124LetPub ·
- h-index
- 159OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,729OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.14OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.19%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 76LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,979 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 73 | 38 | 15 |
| 2025 | 85 | 48 | 231 |
| 2024 | 99 | 60 | 562 |
| 2023 | 214 | 83 | 2,039 |
| 2022 | 147 | 124 | 2,358 |
| 2021 | 182 | 151 | 3,925 |
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
196 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 146 days – 242 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 4 days (15 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 208 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (176 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2002
- ISSN
- 1541-7786
- Electronic ISSN
- 1557-3125
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Cancer Research
What CAS zone is Molecular Cancer Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Cancer Research is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 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 Molecular Cancer Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.72; CiteScore 9.6, h-index 159.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Cancer Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 196 days (interquartile range 146–242 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 Molecular Cancer Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Cancer Research is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Molecular Cancer Research open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular 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: .