About This Journal

• Aims & Scope

  Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity (ISSN 2818-7792) is an international, peer-reviewed, Open Access (OA) journal dedicated to showcasing outstanding original research articles, reviews, and perspectives spanning the dynamic realm of cancer cell heterogeneity and adaptability and the complexities within their microenvironments. Its scope encompasses a wide spectrum of topics, including but not limited to the elucidation of evolutionary relationship of cancer cell subpopulations (i.e., heterogeneity), molecular mechanisms driving cancer cell plasticity (e.g., epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT), epigenetic underpinnings of cancer cell reprogramming (e.g., treatment-induced neuroendocrine (NE) transdifferentiation), and the influence of the tumor microenvironment (TME) on cancer cell dynamics. It extends to embrace studies exploring the impact of the microenvironment and systemic host factors (e.g., hormones, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, and nerves) on cancer progression, therapeutic resistance, cancer cell dissemination and dormancy, metastasis, and the development of innovative targeted and combinatorial therapies.

  Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity welcomes contributions from various disciplines including cancer, cell, molecular and systems biology; genetics, clinical oncology, bioinformatics, immunology, tumor imaging, and artificial intelligence (AI). For research papers, we are especially interested in studies that employ and integrate state-of-the-art experimental models (e.g., lineage tracing in mice, organoids), cutting-edge techniques (e.g., cellular bar-coding, single-cell Omics, high-content and quantitative imaging analysis, spatial transcriptomics/proteomics/pathology, CRISPR screening), and utilization of human cancer specimens (archived or live human tumor samples, PDX, CTCs, ctDNA, etc.) to elucidate cancer cell heterogeneity and plasticity. Additionally, contributions shedding light on translating these findings into clinical applications, such as prognostic markers, personalized medicine, and novel intervention strategies, are also highly encouraged.

  While brevity is encouraged, there are no restrictions on the length of submissions, number of figures, or tables. Both black & white and color figures are accepted, ensuring a comprehensive and visually enriching presentation of research findings.

  The journal strives to serve as a conduit for the dissemination of high-quality and rigorous research and clinical findings in cancer heterogeneity and plasticity, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and knowledge among researchers and practitioners in the field. Through the publication of comprehensive studies addressing fundamental scientific inquiries and practical applications, Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity endeavors to push the boundaries in cancer research, aiming to pave the way for enhanced diagnostics, treatments, and patient outcomes.

• Publication Ethics
  We insist on strict ethical policies and standards to ensure the high quality of scholarly publication on our platform and take a zero-tolerance attitude to all instances of misconduct, including data fabrication, plagiarism, authorship improprieties, and violation of recognized research practices, etc. We deal with all possible misconduct seriously based upon the COPE Guidelines. At any stage, if misconduct is proven, the paper will be rejected or retracted.
• Open Access
  Publishing with the Gold Open Access policy, the full text of the papers published in Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity will be made freely available online, without any barrier of access or subscription requirement, to a worldwide audience. Further information of the Open Access policy is available at Why Open Access.
• Copyright and License

  We adopt the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which means all papers published in Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity are freely available online. Copyright of the published papers is retained by authors. Authors grant any third party the right to use the published paper freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are correctly cited. Authors also grant Pivot Science Publications Corporation an exclusive right to publish their paper and identify it as the original publisher.

  A note as below will be inserted in each paper published in Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity:

  © Year by the author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly credited.
  

• Editorial Process and Peer Review
  Articles submitted to Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity are subject to rigorous single-blinded peer review conducted by at least two reviewers from the same field as the author, followed by an unbiased editorial decision made by an academic editor from the journal. Reviewers adhere to the Guidelines for Reviewers when reviewing manuscripts, while editors abide by the Guidelines for Editors when making decisions. Academic editors and reviewers have the freedom to act completely independently from the editorial office when making decisions or advising on any manuscript. More details of our editorial process and policy are available at Editorial Process.
• Plagiarism
  To ensure the originality of published research, Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity screens every submitted manuscript using iThenticate software in order to identify manuscripts containing plagiarized text, including self-plagiarism. Manuscripts suspected of exhibiting plagiarism will be investigated, and rejected if the plagiarism is subsequently confirmed.
• Repository Policy
  Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity adopts a repository policy that allows authors to deposit all versions of their manuscript in any institutional or subject repository, without any embargo period. Authors may update their preprints with the published version that includes a link to the article on Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity's website, attributing Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity as the source of the original publication.
• Permanent Archiving
  All articles published in Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity are archived in Portico so as to provide permanent digital preservation and open access. Portico secures the long-term survival of Web-based scholarly content in its original format without the risk of loss or destruction due to technological, economic, environmental or political reasons.
• Publication Charge
  There will be no publication fee levied for papers published in Cancer Heterogeneity and Plasticity in 2025. More details of charges are available at Fees.
• Announcement

  Announcements regarding academic activities such as conferences are published for free. For more details, please contact the Editorial Office.
  

• Contact the Journal
  For any information of the journal, please contact the Editorial Office.