Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

The Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia (RBC) endorses the integrity in research, publishing open articles developed with honesty, rigor, transparency, and respect for the authors. Ethical conduct is actively encouraged, granting the authors a safe platform to share their research and questions.

Honesty, responsibility, professionalism and management

RBC follows the recommendations of the “Committee on Publication Ethics” for ethical aspects of publication of scientific articles. The conducts and guidelines for editors and reviewers are available at Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). From publication to allegations of misconduct, the RBC team keeps a fair and polite manner while dealing with authors and institutions, in partnership with editors for all issues related to the integrity of the investigation and through the entire publication process. Therefore, authors and funding entities are aware that the manuscripts published by RBC are submitted to strict ethical review and thorough analysis of integrity of the research.

The authors hold the copyright and give the right of the first publication to the journal simultaneously licensed by Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), to share their articles with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication by this journal.

The names and addresses disclosed in RBC will be utilized exclusively for publications and will not be shared otherwise or to third parties.

Corrections

Whether potentially serious errors come to the knowledge of the RBC team, they will be investigated and corrected accordingly. Articles will be corrected after publication in case of wrong name of the author and errors which substantially impact the meaning or interpretation of the data but that do not compromise the results or final conclusions of the article.

If a correction of a published article is deemed inappropriate or unfeasible, the editors will publish a note to warn readers about their specific concerns.

New information or data obtained by the authors or by third parties after the manuscript is accepted, but before the approval of the drafts, will not be included in the article. An addendum at the end of the article will be inserted upon approval both by the head and the scientific editors.

Retraction

There are many reasons to retract an article published as duplication, plagiarism, unethical publication practices or clear unreliability of results or conclusions because of misconduct. The institution of the author and the respective funding agency will be dully notified in case of misconduct-related retraction according to COPE guidelines.

The editors will issue expressions of concern to warn authors about the retraction while an investigation is in course in case more time to examine the allegations is required or to prompt the institution(s) to investigate.

Plagiarism

Prior to submitting the article for peer-review, RBC screens the manuscript at iThenticate, an antiplagiarism software for editors associated with the “Associação Brasileira de Editores Científicos (Abec)”. RBC will reject any article with high level of self-plagiarism.

The authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of the manuscript and make citations if parts of other articles were incorporated in their manuscript.

RBC does not condone plagiarism in any form whatsoever and authors will be summoned whenever the ratio of similarity with other articles is high. Had plagiarism been confirmed, RBC will reject the article.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility

RBC is ethically committed to promote the adoption of the guidelines DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) through the entire editorial flow to fight the inequalities, inequities and disparities in health and ensure the best possible scientific plurality.

To promote the diversity, the authors are encouraged to self-declare their gender, race/color, origin when submitting the articles. Reviewers, editors and the journal team are encouraged as well to disclose these information.

The manuscripts submitted to RBC should meet the guidelines of Sex and Gender Equality in Research – SAGER. The terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (socially and culturally determined) must be applied wisely to prevent misconceptions. Authors are invited to read the full guidelines prior to submission.

Definition of Sex and Gender (National Institutes of Health – NIH Office of Research in Women's Health).

– Sex – biological differences between women and men, including chromosomes, sexual organs and endogenous hormone profiles.

– Gender – socially constructed and determined roles and behaviors within a historical, cultural and society context which varies throughout time.

Editors and reviewers should not be influenced by the origin of the manuscript, nationality, religious or political beliefs, biological sex, gender identity or other characteristics of the authors or commercial interests according to RBC rules.

To favor accessibility and dissemination of scientific knowledge, the articles are published cost-free by RBC in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Clinical Trials and Systematic Reviews

It is mandatory to disclose the identification at one of the clinical trials registries validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for articles with partial or complete results of clinical trials. This demand meets the recommendation of the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences (BIREME)/Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization about Registration of Clinical Trials and of the Workshop ICTRP.

According to ICMJE criteria, the registers can be made at the following entities:

– Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR)

– ClinicalTrials.gov

– International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN)

– Netherlands Trial Register (NTR)

– UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR)

– WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP)

In studies involving human beings, whenever applicable, the number of the protocol and approval date by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) must be disclosed.

It is mandatory for systematic reviews the indication of the number of the register of the protocol at the database PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews).

Ethics in research with human beings

Articles with results of studies with human beings will be contingent upon the compliance with ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (WMA). Local specific legislation of the country where the study was conducted (when applicable) should be met as well in addition to the approval number by the Institutional Review Board if the case.

Written informed consent forms, permits and authorizations should be obtained at the research site for studies involving human beings, describing the case, personal information and/or images of patients or other individuals in order to meet the applicable laws of privacy and/or safety of personal information.

The Ethics Committee approval and informed consent forms signed by the study patients or volunteers dully documented in your article are mandatory.

Because informed consent forms need to comply with local legislation, RBC will not provide templates. Your affiliate institution should be able to provide the forms. This is your responsibility.

Do not submit RBC signed forms but keep them in a secure place for future evaluation, respecting the privacy of the patient and of other individuals.

Prior to the publication, RBC should be informed in written about any pending requirement of the consent, permit or release.

The Editorial Board of RBC may request additional information about the ethical procedures of the study when necessary.

Studies involving vulnerable groups

Caution is required by the Editor in case of articles addressing studies with vulnerable groups where potential coercion exists, or the informed consent form is unclear. The article may be submitted to an internal supervisory board for further evaluation. The consent or assent (for minors) should be obtained for each and every identifiable personal data, including biomedical, clinical and biometric. A documental proof of the consent should be provided, if needed.

Research involving animals

Regulated experimental research with vertebrated or any invertebrate must meet the international, national and institutional guidelines (Basel Declaration, International Council for Laboratory Animal Science – ICLAS) and approved by the respective IRB. The approval of the research with animals by the IRB, the name of the IRB and reference number must be included in the protocol. If a study is waived by the IRB for ethical approval, the manuscript must include the name of the IRB and justification. The editor will ponder on issues related to the well-being of animals and may reject the manuscript if based in protocols which disregard the conditions to conduct researches with animals. In rare cases, the editor may contact the IRB for further information.

Authors are advised to refer to the Guidelines for Euthanasia of Animals of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 2020 as a comprehensive resource for better veterinary practices for anesthesia and euthanasia of animals and to comply with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) about investigations involving threatened species and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Availability of data and materials

It is implicit that the materials described in the article submitted to RBC include relevant crude data and are fully available to any scientist who wishes to utilize them for non-commercial purposes keeping the anonymity of the participants.

RBC encourages that all datasets-based conclusions are accessible to the readers and deposited at open-access repositories (when available) whenever possible.

Advertising policy

RBC does not reproduce or disclose ads in its articles or at the website, focusing its action to disclosure of scientific knowledge to improve the services provided by the National Health System (SUS) and other national health systems.

Ethical Guidelines