Journal profile · BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY-ONCOLOGY
OncoTargets and Therapy
ISSN 1178-6930 · Dove Medical Press Ltd. · ENGLAND · Founded 2008
OncoTargets and Therapy: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.38; fully open access; APC about USD 2,836; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 104 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; flagged on an early-warning list or for an indexing change: check before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
OncoTargets and Therapy is published by Dove Medical Press Ltd. and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research, Circular RNAs in diseases and MicroRNA in disease regulation, together about 35.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cancer Research and Oncology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Editor-in-Chief: Professor Gaetano Romano OncoTargets and Therapy is an Open Access, peer-reviewed journal covering molecular diagnosis and targeted molecular precision therapy for all cancer types. The journal’s audience includes clinicians, researchers, and medical oncologists interested in basic, clinical, and translational research. OncoTargets and Therapy aims to share novel insights into new and existing therapies and aid informed acceptance by clinicians and treatment adherence by patients. All submissions received by the journal will be subject to single-anonymous peer review. All meta-analyses require a pre-submission check prior to submitting to OncoTargets and Therapy. OncoTargets and Therapy will only accept meta-analyses for epidemiological or clinical submissions. Please complete the pre-submission check form here. The journal has a special interest in: Clinical trial research Novel therapeutic targets and innovative agents Novel therapeutic regimens for improved benefit and/or decreased side effects Development of novel diagnostic and/or prognostic systems Further considerations when submitting to OncoTargets and Therapy: Studies containing in vivo animal model data will be considered favorably. Tissue microarray analyses will not be considered except in cases where they are supported by comprehensive biological studies involving multiple cell lines. Microarray analyses must be supported by clinical and/or biological data. Biomarker association studies will be considered only when validated by comprehensive in vitro data and analysis of human tissue samples. Studies utilizing publicly available data (e.g. GWAS/TCGA/GEO etc.) should add to the body of knowledge about a specific disease or relevant phenotype and must be validated using the authors’ own data through replication in an independent sample set and functional follow-up. Bioinformatics studies must be validated using the authors’ own data through replication in an independent sample set and functional follow-up. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies will not be considered. Case reports will be considered if clinically focused and make a valuable contribution to the literature. Study Protocols will be considered if focused on molecular pathology and make a valuable and original contribution to the literature. Updated 17 October 2025
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY-ONCOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Gaetano RomanoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 23, Italy 6, Germany 4, United Kingdom 3, India 3 (52 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 Biology12.6%
- Circular RNAs in diseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.3%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.2%
- Lung Cancer Treatments and MutationsMedicine6.6%
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosisMedicine4.7%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersMedicine4.2%
- Lung Cancer Research StudiesMedicine4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 4 |
| 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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
Early warning / risk: CAS Early Warning Journal List: listed in the 2021 edition (medium risk) and the 2020 edition (medium risk); not listed in the other 4 editions.LetPub
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
- 2.38LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.73Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.8LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 44LetPub ·
- h-index
- 114OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,590OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.17OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.47%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 98LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 361,290Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,787 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 91 | 91 | 19 |
| 2025 | 104 | 104 | 308 |
| 2024 | 142 | 142 | 405 |
| 2023 | 146 | 146 | 638 |
| 2022 | 191 | 191 | 1,640 |
| 2021 | 532 | 532 | 7,336 |
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
Not usableThis publisher's "received" date is mostly when the revised manuscript arrived (33% of articles were "accepted" within 3 days), so it cannot measure review time
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 7%Publisher website ·
- Desk decision
- 50 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,836 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,990 | 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)
Article types accepted2
- case reportAuthors may use these detailed descriptions of different paper types accepted by Dove Medical Press (case reports, reviews, etc) to decide how to label their pa…Length not stated
- reviewAuthors may use these detailed descriptions of different paper types accepted by Dove Medical Press (case reports, reviews, etc) to decide how to label their pa…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Plagiarism
- Publication ethics
Member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Model summary
This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
All submitted manuscripts are checked for plagiarism using Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate). Model summary
Please be aware that Dove Medical Press checks ALL submitted manuscripts for plagiarism. We use Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate).
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
- Dove Medical Press Ltd.
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2008
- ISSN
- 1178-6930
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about OncoTargets and Therapy
What CAS zone is OncoTargets and Therapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, OncoTargets and Therapy is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / 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 OncoTargets and Therapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.38; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 114.
How long does peer review take at OncoTargets and Therapy?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 7%. 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 OncoTargets and Therapy based?
Of the 52 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (23), Italy (6) and Germany (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index OncoTargets and Therapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, OncoTargets and Therapy is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is OncoTargets and Therapy open access, and what is the APC?
OncoTargets and Therapy is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,836.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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: .