Red Journal: Instructions for Authors

Submission Information

This page contains information specific to Red Journal article types. For the full submission instructions, please visit the ASTRO Journals Author Instructions page.

To submit your manuscript, please use our online submission system.

For questions regarding submissions, please email the editorial office.

Copy Editing and Translation Services Available

ASTRO is pleased to partner with Editage to offer a 10% discount for authors seeking copy editing and translation services. Please use this Author Services link to receive the discount. These services are offered for the benefit of authors, and individuals who participate will remain anonymous. Copy editing and translation are provided by Editage.

Scope

The International Journal of Radiation Oncology ● Biology ● Physics (IJROBP), known in the field as the Red Journal, publishes original laboratory and clinical investigations related to radiation oncology, radiation biology, medical physics and both education and health policy as it relates to the field. For more information on the scope of the Red Journal, please visit our Aims and Scope page.

For more information about the scope of all three ASTRO journals, please see our scope document.

ASTRO provides a checklist and title page template to help facilitate new submissions and revisions.

• Submission Checklist
• Title Page Template

The generalizability table is a suggested but optional item for all new submissions. The table will be published as supplementary data online accompanying an accepted manuscript. Completion of the table will not affect review of the submission. If provided, this table will always appear as supplementary table 1. View examples of completed generalizability tables.

• Generalizability Table Template

Article Types and Guidelines

Scientific Articles (Full-Length Articles)

• Manuscript ≤ 5000 words, tables and figures ≤ 6, references ≤ 50, authors ≤ 15 (please include justification for any exceptions in the cover letter)

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Abstract ( ≤ 300 words)
  • Anonymized manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)
  • Data Sharing Statement

• Original laboratory and clinical investigations related to radiation oncology, radiation biology, and medical physics. Submissions are thoroughly reviewed for scientific originality, significance, relevance and priority, and the topics must be of broad interest to the journal's readers. The Red Journal accepts high-priority manuscripts that report cutting-edge science and that promise to have a strong impact on clinical practice.

• Anonymization is not required for prospective randomized phase II and III studies as these trials have usually been presented at meetings with high visibility and are well known to the editorial teams and the reviewers. For prospective randomized phase II and III studies reporting primary endpoints, the study protocol is a required item (authors may request an exemption in case of confidential or proprietary information that cannot be redacted).

Brief Report (formerly Scientific Letters)

• Manuscript ≤ 1500 words, tables and figures ≤ 6, references ≤ 20, authors ≤ 15 (please include justification for any exceptions in the cover letter)

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Abstract ( ≤ 300 words)
  • Anonymized manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)
  • Data Sharing Statement

• Like Scientific Articles, Brief Reports focus on original laboratory and clinical investigations. They are short scientific papers and may vary widely in scope; for example, they may be more preliminary than full-length articles.

Critical Reviews

• Manuscript ≤ 6000 words, tables and figures ≤ 10, authors ≤ 15 (please include justification for any exceptions in the cover letter)

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Abstract ( ≤ 300 words)
  • Anonymized manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• Contributions from experts in the field exploring interesting topics

Editorials

• Manuscript ≤ 1500 words, tables and figures ≤ 6, references ≤ 10

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• Brief commentary, analysis, or opinion pieces about a published article or other topic of special interest. Very brief opinions on scientific, educational or policy issues may also be submitted in this category.

Letters to the Editor (formerly Comments)

• Manuscript ≤ 400 words, tables and figures ≤ 1, references ≤ 6

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• Comments are letters to the editor that remark on work published in the Red Journal and participate in discussion with the authors. Very brief scientific observations may be submitted. Please do not anonymize comments as the authors of the original work will be invited to respond before publication.

Replies to Letters to the Editor

• Manuscript ≤ 400 words, tables and figures ≤ 1, references ≤ 10

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

Gray Zone Cases

• Manuscript ≤ 250 words, tables and figures ≤ 2, references ≤ 2, authors ≤ 2

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• The goal of this series is to initiate discussion about controversial but instructive clinical scenarios. These are typically short vignettes explaining a clinical problem, ideally presenting a correlated figure, and asking 1-4 questions to a set of invited experts. Up to five experts may be suggested as possible respondents. Please be aware that accepted cases may be edited prior to publication to clarify the subject matter or highlight aspects of interest. Please view our Gray Zone collection for a list of previously published cases.

• Authors submitting cases are expected to have arranged for at least two sets of expert responses to be submitted simultaneously at the time of case submission. Please list the corresponding authors’ names of the responses to be expected in the appropriate field of the online submission form. If the responses are not submitted within two weeks of the initial case submission date, the case will be removed from further consideration. A maximum of five responses may be submitted with a case; responses that include surgical, medical, or physics-based perspectives are of interest.

• Interested authors should submit a proposal to our Gray Zone editor. Submitting a proposal allows the Red Journal to identify ideal cases and to alert authors prior to submission if a similar case has already been submitted or published. This process is informal and is not a commitment to submit the case to the Red Journal, nor does it constitute a guarantee of acceptance following a favorable reception through this process.

Gray Zone Expert Opinions (Invited)

• Manuscript ≤ 250 words, tables and figures ≤ 2, references ≤ 2, authors ≤ 2

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• In these short articles, experts in certain areas offer their answers to case questions submitted to the Gray Zone. Answers to the questions from the case should be specific as possible. Although these are invited articles, the editors may decline to publish answers that are overly similar to other answers or not in line with the journal's policies.

Around the Globe

• Manuscript ≤ 3500 words, tables and figures ≤ 6, references ≤ 50

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Abstract ( ≤ 300 words)
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• Contributions from experts in the field exploring interesting topics in global health. They may describe the nature of health care in an individual nation, the unique and distinguishing influence of local culture, training, and economics on the practice of radiation oncology, or novel innovations in global health.

Images

• Manuscript ≤ 400 words (200 about the work, 200 about the artist)

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • Image
  • References
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• The Red Journal welcomes interesting images and original artwork by people within the radiation oncology community. These submissions are considered for the journal cover.

Errata

• Manuscript ≤ 200 words, tables and figures ≤ 1, references ≤ 5

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present

• Authors are encouraged to report errors in their work to correct the literature. Errata are published in the printed journal and linked back to the original manuscript electronically. The Editor-in-Chief makes all decisions on whether errata are published.

Obituaries

• Manuscript ≤ 1500 words, tables and figures ≤ 1, references ≤ 10

• Required Elements:
  • Title page
  • Manuscript
  • References
  • Figure captions if figures are present
  • Uniform disclosure forms (1 for each author)

• A biographical and research contribution retrospective may be solicited by the Editor-in-Chief; however, outside submissions are welcome, preferably with photographs. The Editor-in-Chief, as well as the Red Journal Senior Editors, will determine acceptability of these submissions, as they will not be sent out for review.

Revisions

Revisions must include the following elements:

• Detailed Response to Reviewers (anonymized)
• Marked version of the revised manuscript (tracked changes preferred)
• Clean version of the revised manuscript
• Clean versions of supporting documents

Please do not include:

• Identifying information on the Detailed Response to Reviewers document
• The original, unrevised manuscript document
• Marked version only of all supporting documents (tables, figures, supplemental files)