An oncology journal on the brink of cancellation before Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty members Kenneth Honn, Ph.D., and Avraham Raz, Ph.D., became co-editors in chief now boasts what is likely its highest impact factor to date.

Springer’s Cancer and Metastasis Reviews posted an impact factor of 9.26, with 292,035 article downloads and 572 social media mentions in 2020. The impact factor rose from 6.4 in 2019, and the five-year rate is projected to be 10.016. The journal is now ranked 32 of 240 oncology journals.

The impact factor of an academic journal is an index calculated by analytic-measurement company Clarivate that reflects the yearly average number of article citations published in the last two years. Journals with higher impact factor values are often deemed more important or carry more intrinsic prestige in their respective fields. The impact factor was 0.2 when Drs. Honn and Raz took over in 2001, the latter said.

Dr. Honn is a distinguished professor of Pathology, of Oncology and of Chemistry. He also directs the Bioactive Lipids Research Program at the School of Medicine. Dr. Raz is a professor of Pathology and of Oncology.

“In addition to publishing four volumes a year as special issues with invited guest editors, focusing on particular areas of cancer research and treatment, we are very selective in accepting non-thematic and clinical reviews to be published,” Dr. Honn said. “Our years of service as co-editors in chief provide us with expertise, diligence and skill at selecting the right content to commission and publish.”

The editors recently added select invited commentaries and editorials to the special issues. “These short reads have been a welcome addition to our volumes as they are intended to be provocative in nature and address current and future trends in a given area of cancer research and treatment,” he added.

The upcoming September issue is on pancreatic cancer, with WSU Associate Professor of Oncology Asfar Azmi, Ph.D., as co-guest editor. The June special issue on Metastatic Heterogeneity, Selection and Response to Immune Intervention included a non-thematic review by WSU Professor of Oncology Philip Philip, M.D., Ph.D., and an invited commentary by Professor of Surgery Greg Auner, Ph.D., on Artificial Intelligence.

The journal also commissioned and published commentary on COVID-19, Inflammation resolution: a dual-pronged approach to averting cytokine storms in COVID-19? Since publication in 2020, the article has been cited 57 times, 32 in 2021. The commentary has been accessed and downloaded more than 18,000 times.

This year marks the first of a phased rollout by Clarivate, in which the calculation uses the online first (instead of print) publication date for part of the numerator. Online first refers to items published online in their final version, but may not be assigned to an issue for another few months.

“This impact factor only included content from 2018 and 2019, so we are eager to see what the fantastic new content published in 2020 will do for the 2021 Impact Factor,” Dr. Honn said. “Although many journals saw a boost in the impact factor this year due to the new calculation, Cancer and Metastasis Reviews increased its overall ranking in Oncology journals from 36 to 32.”