The OncoDaily Medical Journal (ODMJ) is dedicated to disseminating high-quality oncology research that adheres to the strictest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct.  The editorial policies draw upon the guidance and best practices established by leading organizations, including the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT).

Editorial Independence and Integrity

Editors at ODMJ operate with full independence and make decisions based solely on the scientific merit, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance of submitted manuscripts. Decisions are never influenced by commercial interests, advertising, or reprint revenue.

Fairness and Transparency

All submissions are evaluated impartially, without regard to the authors’ nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, ethnicity, or political belief. Editors are responsible for establishing transparent editorial policies and ensuring they are consistently.

Handling of Misconduct

Editors are responsible for addressing allegations of scientific misconduct. Following COPE guidelines, they must investigate reported concerns, contact relevant institutions when appropriate, and coordinate the publication of retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern as needed.

Editors should follow a structured protocol in handling complaints or suspicions regarding misconduct, including:

– Contact the corresponding author to seek an explanation.

– Keeping complainant identities confidential unless disclosure is required.

– Gathering evidence and seeking clarification from all involved parties.

– Consulting institutional officials, ethics boards, and, if necessary, legal counsel.

– Maintaining fairness, objectivity, and confidentiality throughout the investigation.

– Considering actions such as retraction, expression of concern, or correction, depending on findings.

Authorship and Accountability

Authorship must conform to ICMJE criteria:

– Substantial contributions to study conception, design, data acquisition, or analysis

– Drafting or critically revising the manuscript

– Final approval of the version to be published

– Accountability for all aspects of the work

– Authors must ensure all listed contributors meet these criteria and that no ghost, guest, or honorary authors are included.

– Cases of authorship misrepresentation, such as gift or ghost authorship, are considered serious ethical violations.

Disclosure of Assistance and Originality

Any medical writing, statistical support, or other material assistance must be transparently acknowledged in the manuscript.
Submitted work must be original and not under review elsewhere. Preprints and abstract presentations are acceptable but must be disclosed. Duplicate or redundant publication is not allowed, except with full disclosure and permission, in cases where it is necessary (e.g., translated versions).

Research Ethics and Approvals

Authors must affirm that studies involving human or animal subjects received appropriate ethics committee approval. Informed consent must be documented for all identifiable patient data or images. Research involving human participants must adhere to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and comply with local or international regulations, including obtaining informed consent and ethics committee oversight.

Studies involving human biological materials (e.g., tissues, blood, organs) must clearly state the source of the material, evidence of donor consent, and approval from an appropriate ethics review board.

For studies involving animals, authors must confirm compliance with recognized standards for humane care and use of animals in research, such as the ARRIVE guidelines, and national regulations (e.g., Directive 2010/63/EU, U.S. PHS Policy, or local equivalents). Authors should state the specific protocol number and the institutional oversight body.

Authors must also disclose if their manuscript contains patient photos or identifiable human images. In such cases, signed consent for publication must be obtained and provided upon request.

Authors must affirm that studies involving human or animal subjects received appropriate ethics committee approval. Informed consent must be documented for all identifiable patient data or images. Research must comply with international standards (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki, ARRIVE guidelines).

Data Sharing and Transparency

Authors of clinical trials must submit a data-sharing statement and register a plan during trial registration. Data from microarray or high-throughput experiments must be deposited in public repositories (e.g., GEO, ArrayExpress). Data used must be accessible, traceable, and retained for peer verification.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI tools may be used for language enhancement only and under full author supervision. Their use must be disclosed in a dedicated statement. AI cannot be listed as an author, and content generated by AI must be carefully reviewed for accuracy and attribution.

Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosures

All authors, editors, and contributors must disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest:

– Authors must submit conflict of interest forms and declare all financial ties, personal relationships, or professional affiliations that could affect the interpretation of the work

– Review articles and commentaries must be authored by individuals without significant financial interests in related commercial entities.

– Editors at ODMJ are prohibited from holding financial interests in biomedical companies.

– Disclosure statements are published with all accepted manuscripts. ODMJ may decline submissions where conflicts raise concerns over impartiality.

Post-Publication Policies: Corrections and Retractions

ODMJ adheres to COPE guidance for correcting the literature. Post-publication issues may be addressed through:

– Corrigendum: For factual or typographical errors that do not compromise conclusions

– Expression of Concern: When integrity is questioned, but the investigation is ongoing

– Retraction: When results are invalid due to misconduct or fundamental flaws

In rare cases, articles may be removed (e.g., for legal or ethical violations). The rationale for all post-publication changes is publicly documented.

Copyright and Open Access

ODMJ publishes all articles under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, allowing unrestricted use, distribution, and adaptation with proper citation. Authors retain copyright.
Open Access Commitment: All content is freely accessible and indexed for global discovery.
Reuse Permission: Commercial and derivative use is permitted if appropriately credited.
Authors must confirm they have obtained necessary permissions for third-party material (e.g., figures, tables).

For questions or concerns related to publication ethics or to report misconduct:

Ethics Office: [email protected]
Editorial Office: [email protected]