Journal profile · Psychology
Psycho-Oncology
ISSN 1057-9249 · eISSN 1099-1611 · John Wiley and Sons Ltd · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1992
Psycho-Oncology: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.91; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,940; median 158 days to acceptance (105 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 340 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Psycho-Oncology is published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd 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 survivorship and care, Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life and Family Support in Illness, together about 54.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Psycho-Oncology is concerned with the psychological, social, behavioral, and ethical aspects of cancer. This subspeciality addresses the two major psychological dimensions of cancer: the psychological responses of patients to cancer at all stages of the disease, and that of their families and caretakers; and the psychological, behavioral and social factors that may influence the disease process. Psycho-oncology is an area of multi-disciplinary interest and has boundaries with the major specialities in oncology: the clinical disciplines (surgery, medicine, pediatrics, radiotherapy), epidemiology, immunology, endocrinology, biology, pathology, bioethics, palliative care, rehabilitation medicine, clinical trials research and decision making, as well as psychiatry and psychology. This international journal is published twelve times a year and will consider contributions to research of clinical and theoretical interest. Topics covered are wide-ranging and relate to the psychosocial aspects of cancer and AIDS-related tumors, including: epidemiology, quality of life, palliative and supportive care, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, social work, nursing and educational issues. Special reviews are offered from time to time. There is a section reviewing recently published books. A society news section is available for the dissemination of information relating to meetings, conferences and other society-related topics. Summary proceedings of important national and international symposia falling within the aims of the journal are presented. Editorial PolicyManuscripts should be confined to work relating to cancer and AIDS-related tumors. The criteria for publication are originality, high scholarly quality as determined by peer review, interest to a wide audience of those concerned with psycho-oncology.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Psychology
Editor-in-chief Anao ZhangPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 10%); most named United States 27, Australia 8, Mainland China 6, Canada 3, United Kingdom 2 (63 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer survivorship and careMedicine31.1%
- Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of LifeMedicine12.6%
- Family Support in IllnessSocial Sciences10.9%
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesMedicine6.8%
- Cancer-related cognitive impairment studiesMedicine6.8%
- Patient-Provider Communication in HealthcareHealth Professions5.3%
- Global Cancer Incidence and ScreeningMedicine4%
- BRCA gene mutations in cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.6%
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 | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | 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 2 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedEmbasePsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 3.91LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 123LetPub ·
- h-index
- 205OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,126OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.74OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.73%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 290LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 296Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 963,824Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 7,180 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 255 | 183 | 94 |
| 2025 | 340 | 233 | 939 |
| 2024 | 181 | 136 | 1,096 |
| 2023 | 211 | 172 | 2,532 |
| 2022 | 231 | 121 | 3,575 |
| 2021 | 365 | 127 | 5,021 |
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
158 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 245 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 10 days (106 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 167 days
- Sample
- 105 articles with submission and acceptance dates (624 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)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 132 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,940 / EUR 4,120 / GBP 3,290 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- brief reportt, scientific rigor remains a priority. Brief reports should have a maximum of 2000 words, 2 figures and/or tables, and 20 references. Abstract requimain text ≤ 2,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 2 · references ≤ 20
- case studyctice and future research are required. Case studies should have a maximum of 1500 words, 1 figure and/or table, and 20 references. Unstructured absmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- commentaryery to the editor is highly encouraged. Commentaries Commentaries are generally limited to 1000 words and 5 references with no tables/figures. No abstract requi…main text ≤ 1,000 words · references ≤ 5
- editorialThe acceptance criteria for all papers is the quality and originality of the research and its significance to our readership. Except where otherwise stated, man…Length not stated
- original papersignificant contribution to knowledge. Original papers should have a maximum of 4,000 words, 5 figures and/or tables, and 40 references. Abstract requimain text ≤ 4,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 5 · references ≤ 40
- reviewred to be pre-registered with PROSPERO. Reviews should have a maximum of 5,000 words, 6 figures and/or tables, and 60 references. Abstract requimain text ≤ 5,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 6 · references ≤ 60
- reviewsReviews should be critical reviews of the literature, and include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, narrative reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s authorship policy the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on eligibility for author listing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
You will be asked to disclose conflicts of interest during the submission process. See the section ‘Conflict of Interest’ in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on what to include in this section. Please ensure that you liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement. The Conflict of Interest statement should be included within the main te…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Psycho-Oncology recognizes the many benefits of archiving research data. The journal expects you to archive all the data from which your published results are derived in a public repository. The repository that you choose should offer you guaranteed preservation (see the registry of research data repositories at https://www.re3data.org/) and should help you make it findable, accessible, interopera…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Single-blind peer review Model summary
Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are single-blind peer reviewed.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Preprint policy: preprints accepted for review and posting allowed Model summary
Psycho-Oncology will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
We require that clinical trials are prospectively registered in a publicly accessible database and clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report their results. Please include the name of the trial register and your clinical trial registration number at the end of your abstract. If your trial is not registered, or was registered retrospectively, please explain the…
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
- John Wiley and Sons Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1992
- ISSN
- 1057-9249
- Electronic ISSN
- 1099-1611
- Society / sponsor
- American Psychosocial Oncology Society and the British Psycho-Oncology Society concerned with the psychological
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 35, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Psycho-Oncology
What CAS zone is Psycho-Oncology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Psycho-Oncology is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Social Sciences, Biomedical / Oncology / Psychology / Psychology, Multidisciplinary. 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 Psycho-Oncology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.91; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 205.
How long does peer review take at Psycho-Oncology?
Based on the dates recorded on 105 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 158 days (interquartile range 110–245 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18% (2025). 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 Psycho-Oncology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation. 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 Psycho-Oncology based?
Of the 63 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (27), Australia (8) and Mainland China (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Psycho-Oncology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Psycho-Oncology is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Psycho-Oncology open access, and what is the APC?
Psycho-Oncology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,940.
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: .