The OncoDaily Medical Journal is launching a Special Series focused on “Cancer in the Middle East in 2026”. This initiative aims to provide the research, clinical, and policy communities with high-impact, clinically actionable evidence addressing cancer control across the region’s diverse and resource-variable health systems. Accepted manuscripts will be fast-tracked for publication and prominently featured as part of this regional initiative. Notably, there will be no Article Processing Charges (APC) for accepted submissions.

The Special Series is led by two internationally recognized oncology leaders: Sana Al Sukhun, Director of Al Hyatt Oncology Practice and Chair of the MBC RSG Committee at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Arafat Tfayli, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

Cancer in the Middle East

Cancer outcomes in the Middle East are shaped by a distinctive set of clinical and system-level realities: earlier age at diagnosis, frequent late-stage presentation, uneven access to high-quality diagnostics and multidisciplinary care, and substantial variability in treatment capacity across countries. In some settings, conflict and instability further disrupt continuity of care, threatening patient outcomes.

At the same time, the region is experiencing rapid growth in precision oncology, biomarker-driven therapy, and digital health innovation—creating both opportunity and implementation challenges. This Special Series seeks to highlight research that connects diagnostics and translational advances to measurable clinical outcomes, with clear pathways for implementation across heterogeneous systems.

Focus Areas for Submissions

• Early-Onset Cancer and Distinct Disease Patterns: Exploration of early-onset breast, colorectal, and gastric cancers; AYA oncology care gaps; hereditary cancer syndromes (e.g., BRCA, Lynch); germline and somatic testing strategies; and outcome-linked translational research.
• Late-Stage Presentation and Early Detection: Studies mapping diagnostic delays and pathway bottlenecks (primary care to treatment), screening implementation in resource-variable settings, stage-shift analyses, navigation programs, and health-system redesign initiatives with measurable impact.
• Precision Oncology and Biomarker Implementation: Real-world NGS utilization, genomic interpretation models, molecular tumor boards, reflex biomarker testing, quality assurance programs, and cost-conscious implementation strategies linked to treatment selection and patient outcomes.
• Uneven Access to Diagnostics and Multidisciplinary Care: Pathology and imaging turnaround times, radiotherapy planning innovations, multidisciplinary tumor board implementation, and measurable effects on guideline-concordant care and survival.
• Treatment Capacity and Real-World Outcomes: Treatment completion rates, dose intensity, wait times, integration of surgery–systemic therapy–radiation in limited-resource settings, affordability challenges, reimbursement barriers, medicine shortages, and cost-effectiveness or policy-relevant analyses.
• Palliative Care and Survivorship: Early palliative care integration, patient-reported outcomes, long-term survivorship models, financial toxicity, return-to-work challenges, psychosocial care, and digital/tele-oncology models supporting long-term continuity of care.
• Surveillance, Registries, and Data Systems: Cancer registry strengthening, staging completeness, linkage to treatment and outcomes, benchmarking for quality improvement, and integration of genomic data into population-level systems.
• Conflict-Affected Settings and Continuity of Care: Impact of oncology service disruptions, treatment delays and abandonment, crisis-adapted radiotherapy and systemic therapy protocols, cross-border referral pathways, tele-oncology, and ethical triage frameworks.
• Health Systems and Implementation Research: Pathway redesign, quality improvement initiatives, implementation science approaches, workforce and capacity development, and scalable policy innovations tailored to Middle Eastern health systems.

Evaluation Criteria

Manuscripts will be evaluated based on:

• Innovation – Introduction of novel approaches, tools, data, or methodologies relevant to Middle East contexts.
• Regional Applicability – Clear relevance and potential for adaptation or scalability across the health systems of the Middle East
• Impact on Practice or Policy – Demonstrated implications for improving cancer care delivery, health equity, or policy execution within the region.

Author Guidelines

The Special Series will accept Original Research articles and Reviews (including systematic reviews and meta-analyses). More information about submission requirements and formatting guidelines can be found on our website.