Annals of Oncology 24: 2931, 2013 doi:10.1093/annonc/mdt520
Thank you my friends
J. B. Vermorken Editor-in-Chief
references 1. Vermorken JB. Annals of oncology: some modest proposals but some great aims. Ann Oncol 2009; 20: 1289–1290. 2. Cavalli F. What has prevented annals of oncology from reaching an impact factor of 6? Ann Oncol 1999; 10: 1403–1404. 3. Vermorken JB. Annals of oncology: a statement of editorial intent. Ann Oncol 2012; 23: 1931–1932.
© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].
Downloaded from http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/ at National Institute of Education Library, Serials Unit on June 11, 2015
It has often been my good fortune in life to work with friends and for those I have worked with to become friends, and to find that things go better that way. This has certainly been the case with Annals of Oncology. If I look at the modest proposals I outlined for Annals in my introductory editorial as Editor-inChief [1]—to internationalize the editorial team, to make the tumor site sections more visible, to promote translational research, to drive up quality through a rigorous and severe rejection policy—I believe that the results of those proposals, and the work that was done in making them a reality, are clearly visible in the journal you are now reading. What will be less apparent is the friendly spirit of collaboration and enthusiasm that has been brought to these tasks by people working all over the world. The current team of Associate Editors, those people who handle the manuscripts submitted to Annals and process them to a final decision, is actually working over five continents. As I step down as Editorin-Chief, I want to thank that team and all those others who have worked as an Associate Editor over my 5-year tenure: Matti Aapro, James Armitage, Lodovico Balducci, Jacques Bernier, Peter Boyle, Monica Castiglione-Gertsch, Enriqueta Felip, Karim Fizazi, Carlo La Vecchia, Roberto Labianca, Jonathan Ledermann, Lisa Licitra, Grant McArthur, Howard McLeod, Lars Påhlman, Michael Pfreundschuh, Eric PujadeLauraine, Kees Punt, Derek Raghavan, Vinod Raina, Dirk Schrijvers, Nagahiro Saijo, Cristiana Sessa, Nick Thatcher, Giampaolo Tortora, Everett Vokes, Daniel Vorobiof, Hans Wildiers, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa. Some things are quite visible; I am particularly proud that I have been Editor-in-Chief when the journal achieved a goal set for it by its founding editor, Franco Cavalli, in 1999: an impact factor of above 6 [2], though here I must also acknowledge the work of my immediate predecessor in this post, David Kerr. Of course, things have moved on and my own goal for both myself, and now my successor, has been an impact factor of above 10, but even so, the current impact factor of 7.384 represents a 50% increase over 5 years.
The other thing that has increased by 50% over the last 5 years is the size of the journal. Sometimes I am quite frightened at the sheer size of a monthly issue now, and I suspect many people may choose to read it online simply to avoid picking the thing up. Nevertheless, as I said at the outset, quality has been our aim and this increase reflects no fall in standards, but rather an increase in the quality of work submitted, and through the work of the editorial team, the aim of an 80% rejection rate has long since been reached. This year, as last year, Annals will reject 85% of all original submissions. So I must be grateful that the authors keep coming, but come they do, and in such numbers that we have needed to become very explicit about what we will even consider publishing [3]. Their work speaks for itself; take a look at this issue, or any other recent issue, and see for yourself. Still more thanks are due. I am particularly grateful to Oxford University Press for providing me with a Dutch Englishman in the tall shape of Phil Bishop to guide me through what continue to be difficult times in journal publishing. And I shall miss terribly the staff of the editorial office, Giovannella Porcu, Paola Minotti, Lizzie Philimore and Lewis Rowett. It has been wonderful to work with them, not only with regard to their devotion to Annals, but also their common sense, sound advice and good understanding of what constitutes excellence in editorial practice and production. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank ESMO and JSMO for their trust over the last 5 years, and I want to commend to you my successor Jean-Charles Soria. I wish him every success and many good friends.
editorials
editorials
Thank you my friends
J. B. Vermorken Editor-in-Chief
references 1. Vermorken JB. Annals of oncology: some modest proposals but some great aims. Ann Oncol 2009; 20: 1289–1290. 2. Cavalli F. What has prevented annals of oncology from reaching an impact factor of 6? Ann Oncol 1999; 10: 1403–1404. 3. Vermorken JB. Annals of oncology: a statement of editorial intent. Ann Oncol 2012; 23: 1931–1932.
© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].
Downloaded from http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/ at National Institute of Education Library, Serials Unit on June 11, 2015
It has often been my good fortune in life to work with friends and for those I have worked with to become friends, and to find that things go better that way. This has certainly been the case with Annals of Oncology. If I look at the modest proposals I outlined for Annals in my introductory editorial as Editor-inChief [1]—to internationalize the editorial team, to make the tumor site sections more visible, to promote translational research, to drive up quality through a rigorous and severe rejection policy—I believe that the results of those proposals, and the work that was done in making them a reality, are clearly visible in the journal you are now reading. What will be less apparent is the friendly spirit of collaboration and enthusiasm that has been brought to these tasks by people working all over the world. The current team of Associate Editors, those people who handle the manuscripts submitted to Annals and process them to a final decision, is actually working over five continents. As I step down as Editorin-Chief, I want to thank that team and all those others who have worked as an Associate Editor over my 5-year tenure: Matti Aapro, James Armitage, Lodovico Balducci, Jacques Bernier, Peter Boyle, Monica Castiglione-Gertsch, Enriqueta Felip, Karim Fizazi, Carlo La Vecchia, Roberto Labianca, Jonathan Ledermann, Lisa Licitra, Grant McArthur, Howard McLeod, Lars Påhlman, Michael Pfreundschuh, Eric PujadeLauraine, Kees Punt, Derek Raghavan, Vinod Raina, Dirk Schrijvers, Nagahiro Saijo, Cristiana Sessa, Nick Thatcher, Giampaolo Tortora, Everett Vokes, Daniel Vorobiof, Hans Wildiers, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa. Some things are quite visible; I am particularly proud that I have been Editor-in-Chief when the journal achieved a goal set for it by its founding editor, Franco Cavalli, in 1999: an impact factor of above 6 [2], though here I must also acknowledge the work of my immediate predecessor in this post, David Kerr. Of course, things have moved on and my own goal for both myself, and now my successor, has been an impact factor of above 10, but even so, the current impact factor of 7.384 represents a 50% increase over 5 years.
The other thing that has increased by 50% over the last 5 years is the size of the journal. Sometimes I am quite frightened at the sheer size of a monthly issue now, and I suspect many people may choose to read it online simply to avoid picking the thing up. Nevertheless, as I said at the outset, quality has been our aim and this increase reflects no fall in standards, but rather an increase in the quality of work submitted, and through the work of the editorial team, the aim of an 80% rejection rate has long since been reached. This year, as last year, Annals will reject 85% of all original submissions. So I must be grateful that the authors keep coming, but come they do, and in such numbers that we have needed to become very explicit about what we will even consider publishing [3]. Their work speaks for itself; take a look at this issue, or any other recent issue, and see for yourself. Still more thanks are due. I am particularly grateful to Oxford University Press for providing me with a Dutch Englishman in the tall shape of Phil Bishop to guide me through what continue to be difficult times in journal publishing. And I shall miss terribly the staff of the editorial office, Giovannella Porcu, Paola Minotti, Lizzie Philimore and Lewis Rowett. It has been wonderful to work with them, not only with regard to their devotion to Annals, but also their common sense, sound advice and good understanding of what constitutes excellence in editorial practice and production. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank ESMO and JSMO for their trust over the last 5 years, and I want to commend to you my successor Jean-Charles Soria. I wish him every success and many good friends.
editorials
editorials
