Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

The Medical Journal of Oncology (MJO) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical publishing. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

All parties involved in the publication process — authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher — are expected to adhere to the principles of honesty, transparency, accountability, and integrity.

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1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

• Submit only original work that has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration in another journal.

• Provide accurate, complete, and transparent data. Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting of results is strictly prohibited.

• Ensure that all clinical trials are registered in a recognized registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) and include registration numbers in the manuscript.

• Acknowledge all funding sources and disclose any conflicts of interest.

• Obtain ethics committee/institutional review board (IRB) approval for studies involving humans and informed consent from patients/participants.

• Ensure patient confidentiality by anonymizing identifying information unless explicit consent for publication has been obtained.

• Include only individuals who have made significant contributions as authors and provide proper acknowledgment for others.

• Correct errors in published work by promptly notifying the journal.

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2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must:

• Make editorial decisions based solely on scientific merit, originality, and relevance to oncology, without bias regarding nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal beliefs.

• Ensure a fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process.

• Maintain confidentiality of all manuscripts.

• Recuse themselves from decisions where they have a conflict of interest.

• Take prompt action if misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data manipulation, unethical research) is suspected, following COPE flowcharts.

• Ensure corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are issued when necessary.

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3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback on manuscripts.

• Maintain strict confidentiality and not use unpublished data for personal gain.

• Disclose any conflicts of interest and decline reviews where impartiality is compromised.

• Report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research practices to the editors.

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4. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher ensures:

• Integrity and independence of the editorial process.

• That no commercial influence (e.g., pharmaceutical advertising, sponsorship) compromises editorial decisions.

• Implementation of industry standards on plagiarism detection (iThenticate/Turnitin), peer review ethics, and data transparency.

• Permanent accessibility of published content through digital preservation (e.g., DOI/Crossref archiving).

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5. Misconduct and Malpractice

MJO takes all forms of misconduct seriously. The following are considered unethical:

• Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism)

• Data fabrication or falsification

• Duplicate or redundant publication

• Unethical research (without IRB approval or informed consent)

• Improper authorship practices (guest authorship, ghostwriting, or exclusion of legitimate contributors)

• Undisclosed conflicts of interest

• Citation manipulation (coercive citation, citation cartels)

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6. Handling of Misconduct

• Allegations of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines.

• If misconduct is confirmed, actions may include:

  • Rejection of the manuscript (pre-publication)

  • Retraction or correction of the article (post-publication)

  • Notification of authors’ institutions or funding agencies

  • Blacklisting of authors/reviewers found guilty of serious malpractice