Instructions For Author

Comprehensive guidance for preparing colorectal cancer manuscripts.

Journal of Colon and Rectal Cancer publishes original research, clinical trials, systematic reviews, surgical technique studies, and outcomes research focused on colon and rectal cancer.

Manuscripts should demonstrate clinical relevance, transparent reporting, and validated outcome measures.

• Title page with author affiliations and corresponding author details
• Structured abstract with objectives, methods, results, and conclusions
• Introduction outlining clinical context and research gap
• Methods detailing patients, interventions, and measures
• Results with clear statistical reporting and effect sizes
• Discussion addressing implications, limitations, and future work
• Conclusion summarizing clinical or surgical impact

• Use clear headings and consistent terminology
• Define abbreviations and clinical scales at first use
• Provide units for all outcomes and assessments
• Submit tables in editable format with descriptive titles
• Include figure legends with sample sizes and methods

• Use validated staging and pathology reporting
• Describe surgical approach and perioperative care
• Report neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy details
• Provide statistical rationale and handling of missing data
• Disclose comorbidities and concurrent treatments

• Provide ethics approval and informed consent statements
• Include data availability statements and repository links
• Describe any access restrictions for sensitive data
• Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources
• Register clinical trials where applicable

• Ensure references are complete and consistent
• Include DOIs when available
• Match in text citations with reference list entries
• Use standard citation formats and abbreviations

After editorial screening, manuscripts proceed to single blind peer review. Clear reporting accelerates decisions.

Use this checklist to improve clinical clarity, reproducibility, and treatment relevance for colorectal cancer studies.

• Confirm diagnosis with pathology or validated clinical criteria
• Specify tumor location and anatomic segment
• Report TNM stage and staging methodology
• Provide lymph node yield and nodal status
• Describe margin status and resection completeness
• Report MSI or MMR status when available
• Include KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF mutation data if tested
• Report tumor grade and histologic subtype
• Describe neoadjuvant therapy regimen and timing
• Detail surgical approach and technique
• Report perioperative complications and management
• Provide adjuvant therapy details and duration
• Include follow up timeline and surveillance protocol
• Report recurrence patterns and time to recurrence
• State survival endpoints and definitions
• Include quality of life or functional outcomes
• Describe comorbidities and concurrent treatments
• Provide sample size rationale or power calculation
• Explain statistical methods and assumptions
• Report handling of missing data
• Include ethics approvals and consent statements
• Provide data availability and repository links
• Describe imaging used for staging or response
• Report treatment adherence or protocol deviations
• Clarify any subgroup or stratified analyses
• Define response criteria and outcome thresholds
• Describe biomarkers or circulating tumor DNA methods
• Report multidisciplinary care involvement
• Include limitations and generalizability statements
• Provide interpretation aligned with clinical practice

Surgical and pathology details help clinicians and researchers compare outcomes across centers.

• Describe surgical approach: open, laparoscopic, or robotic
• Report total mesorectal excision quality for rectal cases
• Document circumferential margin status
• Report anastomotic technique and leak monitoring
• Include ostomy creation details if applicable
• Report lymphovascular and perineural invasion
• Describe tumor budding or grading systems
• Provide pathology specimen processing details
• Report number of positive lymph nodes
• Describe response grading after neoadjuvant therapy
• Include completeness of resection classification
• Report intraoperative blood loss and transfusion
• Describe perioperative recovery protocols
• Provide length of stay and readmission rates
• Report postoperative complications and severity
• Describe multidisciplinary tumor board input
• Include standardized pathology reporting templates
• Report sentinel node or mapping techniques if used
• Describe imaging for local recurrence detection
• Report functional outcomes such as bowel or continence status

Provide a structured abstract that includes objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. Abstracts should clearly state the clinical relevance of the findings for colorectal cancer care.

Select keywords that improve discovery, including tumor location, staging terms, and therapy types. Use consistent terminology across the title, abstract, and main text.

• Aim for concise abstracts that report primary outcomes
• Include key numeric results with effect sizes
• Provide 5 to 8 specific, clinically relevant keywords
• Avoid abbreviations unless defined and standard

Report statistical methods in enough detail to enable replication. Provide justification for sample size, power calculations, and handling of missing data.

• Specify primary and secondary endpoints
• Report confidence intervals and exact p values
• Describe adjustments for multiple comparisons
• Explain model assumptions and validation methods
• Provide software and version information

Clinical trials and interventional studies should include registration numbers and compliance statements. Observational studies should document cohort selection and consent or waiver details.

• Register trials in recognized public registries
• Describe randomization and allocation concealment
• Report adverse events and safety monitoring
• Provide protocol deviations and amendments

High quality figures improve clinical interpretation. Imaging and pathology figures should include scale bars, labels, and clear legends describing measurement methods.

• Submit figures in high resolution formats
• Describe imaging modalities and acquisition parameters
• Provide pathology grading systems used
• Include statistical annotations on charts

The cover letter should summarize clinical significance, confirm originality, and explain why the manuscript fits Journal of Colon and Rectal Cancer. Highlight practice changing insights or novel surgical techniques.

• State any prior dissemination such as preprints
• Confirm that all authors approve submission
• Identify any related manuscripts under review
• Suggest potential reviewers with expertise

Revision responses should address reviewer points in a tracked response document. Provide data availability statements and confirm that datasets or code are accessible for verification.

If data are restricted, describe the access process and provide contact information for requests.

Supplementary materials should be clearly labeled and referenced in the main text. Data and code repositories must be cited with persistent links or DOIs to ensure long term access.

• Provide a data availability statement in the manuscript
• Label supplementary tables and figures clearly
• Explain any data access restrictions

Clinical studies must include informed consent statements or IRB waiver details. When reporting patient data, ensure privacy protections and de identification procedures are described.

• Describe consent process for prospective studies
• Explain waiver criteria for retrospective analyses
• Confirm compliance with local regulations

Ethics compliance is essential for colorectal cancer research. Include IRB or ethics committee approvals, consent procedures, and patient safety monitoring details. If data are retrospective, explain the consent waiver and describe how patient privacy was protected.

Studies involving surgery, radiation, or systemic therapy should document adverse event reporting and any stopping rules used in the protocol.

• State the ethics approval number and institution
• Describe consent process and language used
• Report adverse events and safety monitoring
• Clarify data de identification procedures

Confirm these items before submission to speed editorial screening and peer review.

• Title page includes affiliations and corresponding author details
• Abstract reports objectives, methods, results, and conclusions
• Keywords include colon or rectal cancer terminology
• Ethics approval number and consent statements included
• Clinical trial registration identifiers provided when needed
• Figures are high resolution with complete legends
• Tables are editable and labeled clearly
• Data availability statement provides repository links
• Conflict of interest disclosures are complete
• Funding sources and grant numbers listed
• Cover letter confirms originality and scope fit
• All authors approve the final submission

Review these items before uploading your submission package.

• Ensure all figures are labeled and referenced in text
• Check that tables match the reported results
• Verify that supplementary files are named clearly
• Confirm that author names match affiliations