What CRMSSS publishes
Work advancing the science and practice of radiation medicine across its three pillars — screening, surveillance, and survivorship. That includes normal-tissue sparing and late-effect reduction, surveillance strategy and imaging cadence, survivorship models of care, treatment technique and dosimetry where the endpoint is long-term quality, health-services and outcomes research in these areas, and methods papers.
We actively want two kinds of manuscript that are hard to place elsewhere: negative and null results from adequately powered studies, and confirmatory or replication work. A literature that only prints what worked is not a literature; it is a highlight reel.
Article types
| Type | Word limit | Abstract | Structure | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original research | 4,000 | Structured, 300 | Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion | No limit |
| Systematic review / meta-analysis | 5,000 | Structured, 300 | PRISMA-conformant, protocol registration expected | No limit |
| Narrative review | 4,000 | Unstructured, 250 | Author's choice; search strategy stated | No limit |
| Methods and technique | 3,000 | Unstructured, 250 | Enough detail for independent reproduction | No limit |
| Clinical perspective | 2,000 | Unstructured, 200 | Author's choice | 40 |
| Brief report | 1,500 | Structured, 200 | As original research, condensed | 20 |
| Case report / series | 1,500 | Unstructured, 150 | CARE-conformant; consent required | 20 |
| Correspondence | 800 | None | Not externally peer reviewed; labelled as such | 10 |
Word limits exclude the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends. They are guidance rather than a wall — if the work genuinely needs more room, say so in the cover letter and we will consider it. What we will not accept is a 4,000-word paper that could have been 2,000.
Preparing the manuscript
- Format. Word (.docx) or LaTeX source with a compiled PDF. Continuous line numbers and double spacing — reviewers cite line numbers, and a manuscript without them makes every report vaguer.
- Title page, submitted separately. Title, all authors with affiliations and ORCID iDs, corresponding author's contact details, word count, and all declarations.
- Abstract. Structured abstracts use Purpose, Methods, Results, Conclusions. Report actual numbers with measures of uncertainty, not directions of effect.
- Keywords. Three to eight, preferring MeSH terms.
- References. Vancouver style, numbered in order of appearance. Include a DOI or PMID for every reference that has one. Do not cite retracted work except to discuss the retraction.
- Figures. Vector (PDF, EPS, SVG) where the source allows, otherwise 300 dpi or better. Every figure legend must stand alone. Colour must not be the only carrier of meaning — roughly one in twelve male readers will not see a red-versus-green distinction.
- Tables. Editable text, never images of tables. Define every abbreviation in a footnote.
- Dosimetry. Report prescription dose and fractionation, planning technique, image guidance, and the organ-at-risk constraints actually used, with the dose-reporting convention named.
- Units. SI throughout. Gray for absorbed dose, with fractionation always stated alongside any total dose.
Reporting guidelines
Submit the completed checklist for your study design with the manuscript. This is checked at the editorial screen and a missing checklist will delay your submission. All of these are maintained by the EQUATOR Network, where the current versions and checklists are freely available.
| If your study is a... | Use |
|---|---|
| Randomised controlled trial | CONSORT |
| Observational cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional study | STROBE |
| Systematic review or meta-analysis | PRISMA |
| Case report or small case series | CARE |
| Diagnostic or prognostic accuracy study | STARD |
| Prediction model development or validation | TRIPOD |
| Quality improvement study | SQUIRE |
| Study protocol | SPIRIT |
Required declarations
Every one of these must appear on the title page. A manuscript missing any of them is returned at the editorial screen rather than sent for review.
- Authorship. Confirmation that every listed author meets all four ICMJE criteria, plus a CRediT-style statement of who did what.
- Conflicts of interest. For every author, covering the 36 months before submission — employment, consultancies, honoraria, equity, patents, expert testimony, and industry relationships. "None" is a declaration and must be stated explicitly.
- Funding. Every source, with grant numbers, and a statement of what role, if any, the funder had in design, analysis, or the decision to publish.
- Ethics approval. The approving body and the protocol number, or the basis for a formal waiver.
- Consent. For any identifiable individual, written consent to publish. Removing a name is not de-identification if the clinical detail identifies the person.
- Trial registration. Prospective registration, before the first participant is enrolled, with the registry and identifier given. Retrospectively registered trials are considered only with a written explanation, and the registration status is published with the article.
- Data availability. Where the data are, how to get them, and under what conditions — or a specific reason they cannot be shared. "Available on reasonable request" is accepted only when accompanied by who decides what counts as reasonable.
- Use of AI. Any generative AI used in producing the manuscript, what it was used for, and which model. AI cannot be an author. See Publication Ethics.
Preprints, and prior presentation
Posting a preprint does not prejudice consideration by CRMSSS. Cite it in your submission with its DOI, and we ask that you update the preprint record with a link to the published version. Presentation of the work at a scientific meeting, including a published abstract, is likewise not prior publication.
What we will not consider is a manuscript under review at another journal at the same time, or work substantially published elsewhere. If any part of the dataset has appeared before, say so in the cover letter and explain the relationship — we would far rather assess that openly than discover it at the similarity screen.
Copyright, access, and what you keep
Authors retain copyright in their work. CRMSSS asks for a licence to publish, edit, and distribute the article; it does not ask you to assign your rights away, which is the arrangement most legacy publishers require and the one this journal was founded to refuse.
Every article is published with a free preview available to any reader. Full text is available by subscription or single-article purchase, and those proceeds fund the authors and the peer reviewers directly rather than a publisher's margin. There is no submission fee and no article processing charge — you are never asked to pay to be published here.
You may always post the accepted version in your institutional repository and share it with colleagues and patients. If your funder mandates immediate open access, tell us at submission and we will make the article free at publication at no cost to you; a funder requirement is not a reason to turn work away.
After acceptance
You will receive proofs and have 5 working days to return corrections. Proof stage is for errors, not for new analyses or new authors. Once published, the article is part of the permanent record: substantive changes are made through a formal correction notice rather than by quietly editing the file. That policy, including retractions, is set out in Publication Ethics.
Ready to submit?
Send an abstract and a short cover note and the editorial team will follow up with next steps.