JAMA Oncology

About JAMA Oncology

JAMA Oncology: Journal Overview

JAMA Oncology is an international peer-reviewed journal and, in the publisher's own words, "the definitive journal for scientists, clinicians, and trainees in the field of oncology." It is published by the American Medical Association (AMA) and is a member of the JAMA Network, a consortium of peer-reviewed, general medical and specialty publications (source: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/pages/for-authors, updated July 2026).

JAMA Oncology was launched in 2015 as the JAMA Network's first new journal since 1999, and it has grown into one of the most cited oncology journals in the world. The journal's official For Authors page lists a Journal Impact Factor of 23.9, described as "one of the highest ranking among oncology journals" (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). An independent JCR-derived ranking places that 23.9 figure — the 2024-data-year impact factor — at approximately 12th among oncology journals worldwide (source: ooir.org oncology journal rankings table, accessed October 2026).

The journal publishes online weekly, every Thursday, and in 12 print/online issues per year, with all major articles published Online First (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). Its reach is large: more than 7.6 million annual article views and downloads and over 139,000 social media followers across Facebook, X, and LinkedIn (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). The journal is genuinely international — 61% of submissions come from outside the United States — and in 2025 and 2026 it received more than 7,300 press mentions in over 1,800 outlets (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). JAMA Oncology published 21 of the top 50 Altmetric-scoring articles among oncology journals, including the No. 1 article (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

History of JAMA Oncology

The AMA announced the new journal on 22 September 2014, under the headline "New journal JAMA Oncology to debut in 2015" (source: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026; the announcement was also reported by the Society for Scholarly Publishing, 7 October 2014). When JAMA Oncology premiered in early 2015, it became the 11th journal in the JAMA Network — and the first new journal launched by the network since 1999 (sources: ama-assn.org; sspnet.org, October 2014).

The journal officially launched online on 12 February 2015, with its first print edition scheduled for April 2015 (source: radiologybusiness.com reporting the JAMA Network announcement, accessed October 2026). The journal's inaugural editorial, "Announcing JAMA Oncology," was published in the first issue by founding editor Mary L. Disis (JAMA Oncol. 2015;1(1):15–16; doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2014.239) (source: Wikipedia, "List of American Medical Association journals," citing the editorial record).

JAMA Oncology was created to cover all aspects of medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology, as well as subspecialties — publishing original investigation, opinion (viewpoints, editorials, and invited commentaries), and clinical reviews (source: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026). JAMA editor-in-chief Howard Bauchner said at the launch that "the worldwide research effort in oncology is substantial, including lab, translational, clinical and health services research, and there are many important evolving clinical and policy issues" (source: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026).

In 2025 the journal marked its tenth anniversary with an anniversary editorial, "A Decade of JAMA Oncology," in which Disis reflected that the journal's original goal had been to create a venue for "one-stop shopping" for oncology clinical science — publishing scientific discoveries and innovations with either immediate importance to the reader or the potential to be practice-changing within five years (source: muckrack.com listing of the jamanetwork.com editorial, accessed October 2026).

Aims & Scope

JAMA Oncology states its mission as being committed to publishing influential original research, opinions, and reviews that advance the science of oncology and improve the clinical care of patients with cancer, with content designed to deepen readers' understanding of cancer pathogenesis and recent treatment advances (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026, paraphrased).

The journal aims to effectively convey the findings of important clinical research, major scientific breakthroughs, actionable discoveries, and state-of-the-art treatment pathways to the oncology community — with the stated goal that the successful communication of new knowledge will ultimately translate into clinical benefit for people living with and surviving cancer (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026, paraphrased).

In scope, the journal spans the full continuum of cancer medicine. The journal's homepage frames its coverage as cancer treatment, genetics, and prevention (source: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology, accessed October 2026). The launch announcement specified all aspects of medical, radiation, and surgical oncology and its subspecialties, including laboratory, translational, clinical, and health-services research, plus evolving clinical and policy issues (source: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026). The intended readership is the worldwide oncology community: scientists, clinicians, and trainees (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Leadership and Editorial Team

The founding — and current — Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Oncology is Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD, named to the role when the journal was announced in 2014 and still leading it according to the journal's official pages (sources: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026; jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026, which lists her as Editor with the editorial office address). A JAMA editor at launch called her "an internationally renowned investigator and a superb clinician" (source: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026).

Dr. Disis is based at the University of Washington in Seattle. According to the journal's For Authors page, she is director of the UW Institute of Translational Health Science and the Center for Translational Medicine in Women's Health, associate dean of the UW School of Medicine, dean of Research and Graduate Education, associate dean of Translational Science, Helen B. Slonaker Endowed Professor for Cancer Research, professor of Medicine and Oncology, and adjunct professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pathology (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). Her UW faculty profile describes her as an expert in the immunology and immunotherapy of breast and ovarian cancers with an emphasis on cancer vaccines; she is one of the pioneering investigators who discovered that HER-2/neu is a tumor antigen, and she holds several patents for targeted cancer therapies and diagnostics (sources: hemonc.uw.edu faculty profile; retirees.uw.edu, accessed October 2026). She earned her MD (and an MS in immunology) from the University of Nebraska, completed her residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and did her oncology fellowship at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; she is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians, an American Cancer Society Clinical Professor, and also serves as a deputy editor of JAMA (sources: hemonc.uw.edu; retirees.uw.edu; mednews.uw.edu, accessed October 2026).

The journal's editorial office is at the Cancer Vaccine Institute, University of Washington, 850 Republican St, Box 358050, Seattle, WA 98109-4714 (email jamaonc@uw.edu) (source: jamanetwork.com Instructions for Authors, accessed October 2026). The journal publishes an annual acknowledgment of its peer reviewers — for example, 581 reviewers completed manuscript reviews for JAMA Oncology in 2024 (source: muckrack.com listing of the journal's 2024 reviewers acknowledgment, accessed October 2026). For the full current roster of editors and the editorial board, the journal directs readers to its "Editors and Publishers" page (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Editorial Process and Peer Review

JAMA Oncology describes its peer review and editorial evaluation as highly selective: the journal's acceptance rate is 8% of all submissions. The median time to first decision is 3 days for manuscripts declined without external peer review and 32 days with review (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

How manuscripts are handled:

1. Initial editorial assessment. Manuscripts are screened by the journal's experienced editors, with rapid desk decisions — the 3-day median without external review means most triage decisions reach authors within days (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).
2. External peer review. Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment are sent for formal external review (median 32 days to first decision with review). The journal says it applies the highest editorial standards to improve each accepted manuscript's accuracy, reliability, and readability (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).
3. Expedited review and Online First publication. The journal offers expedited peer review and online publication for select clinical trials, other major studies, or reports with urgent public health importance. All major articles are published Online First, and the journal offers the opportunity to publish new research simultaneously with a meeting presentation (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Rigor requirements mirror those across the JAMA Network: clinical trials must be registered; study protocols with statistical analysis plans are required for all randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials (submitted as supplements and published alongside accepted papers); manuscripts must follow the relevant EQUATOR reporting guidelines — CONSORT for randomized trials, PRISMA or MOOSE for meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies — and include a Data Sharing Statement (source: jamanetwork.com Instructions for Authors, accessed October 2026).

Papers not accepted by JAMA Oncology may have the option of automatic referral — manuscript plus reviewers' comments — to one of the JAMA Network specialty journals and/or JAMA Network Open, a pathway the journal calls the "JAMA Network advantage" (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Impact and Metrics

The metrics below are drawn from the journal's official For Authors page (updated July 2026) and from Journal Citation Reports history. Years refer to the metric year as displayed by each source.

Historical note: Like other top oncology journals, JAMA Oncology's impact factor rose sharply in the early 2020s and has since settled in the low-to-mid 20s. The 2021 figure of 33.006 (10th of 246 in Oncology) reflects that period (source: Wikipedia citing Journal Citation Reports, 2022 release). Readers should check the journal's official pages for the current figures, which are updated annually.

The journal tracks author-relevant visibility data on every article — citations, views, and Altmetric scores are displayed alongside each paper — and its dedicated media team promotes selected articles to news and social media (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts are submitted online at manuscripts.jamaonc.com (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). Key requirements from the official Instructions for Authors, paraphrased (source: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/pages/instructions-for-authors, accessed October 2026):

• Original Investigation (the flagship research format): 3,000 words of text, no more than 5 tables and/or figures, structured abstract, Key Points box, Study Type, Data Sharing Statement, and adherence to EQUATOR reporting guidelines. Study protocols with statistical analysis plans are required for all randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials (encouraged for other study types) and are published as supplements when the paper is accepted.
• Short reports / brief original studies: 1,200 words, 15 references, up to 3 tables and/or figures, structured abstract, Key Points, Data Sharing Statement. The journal notes that it very rarely publishes case reports.
• Research Letter: 800 words, up to 10 references, up to 2 small tables and/or figures, no abstract or Key Points; supplement allowed only for brief additional methods.
• Clinical trials: 3,000 words, 50–75 references, up to 5 tables and/or figures including a CONSORT flow diagram, structured abstract, Key Points; subtitle "A Randomized Clinical Trial" (or "A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial"), trial registration and ID, trial protocol, CONSORT checklist, Data Sharing Statement, CONSORT (or TREND for nonrandomized) guidelines.
• Meta-analysis / systematic review: 3,000 words, up to 5 tables and/or figures, 50–75 references, structured abstract, Key Points, Data Sharing Statement, PRISMA or MOOSE guidelines; a PRISMA-style flow diagram goes in the online supplement. Systematic reviews without meta-analysis are published as Reviews.
• Review: 2,000–3,500 words, 50–75 references, up to 5 tables and/or figures, 3-part structured abstract, subtitle "A Review."
• Special Communication: 3,000 words, 50 references, up to 4 tables and/or figures, structured abstract — requires a presubmission inquiry.
• Opinion (Viewpoint): 1,200 words (or 1,000 words with 1 small table or figure), up to 7 references at submission, up to 4 authors; the use of AI, LLMs, and chatbots to draft opinion manuscripts is not permitted.
• Humanities: personal vignettes up to 1,600 words (up to 3 authors; patient permission may be needed); poetry up to 44 lines (single author). AI-assisted drafting is not permitted for these manuscript types either.
• Letters to the Editor: 400 words, up to 5 references, up to 3 authors — letters discussing a recent article must be submitted within 4 weeks of the article's publication online. Replies by authors are up to 500 words.

Author services and extras: The journal promises a user-friendly submission system, prompt expert editorial consideration, CME credit for lead authors who publish in JAMA Oncology, visual abstracts and expert illustrations, interactive features and video/audio, supplemental content, downloadable PowerPoint versions of tables and figures, and display of citations, views, and Altmetric scores with every article (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Open Access and APC

JAMA Oncology is a subscription journal with no author fees by default: "Without any author fees, all research articles are made free access online 12 months after publication on the website." The online version is also freely available (or nearly so) to institutions in developing countries through the World Health Organization's HINARI program (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Immediate open access option: Authors of research articles may elect to pay for immediate open access on the day of publication. The JAMA Network's official access-resource page sets the article processing charge for JAMA Network Specialty Journals (which includes JAMA Oncology) at $6,000 USD, billed to the corresponding author. Authors who decline open access agree to the JAMA Network's standard Publishing Agreement (transfer of copyright); after 12 months the article becomes freely accessible on the journal website and in PubMed Central. Waivers and discounts are offered based on the corresponding author's country of residence, using the WHO Research4Life list of developing countries (source: jamanetwork.com/pages/access-resource-center, accessed October 2026). APC figures can change — always verify the current charge on the official JAMA Network access page before relying on any number.

Public access: The journal deposits all published research articles into PubMed Central (PMC) for authors. Authors may also post the accepted version of a research manuscript in a public repository of their choice to comply with funder requirements — on the date of acceptance — provided it is not made publicly available until the date of publication (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Why Publish in JAMA Oncology

Beyond the metrics, the journal's official pages highlight several author-facing advantages: a dedicated media team promoting articles to news and social media; author audio interviews and podcasts; coordination with major meeting presentations; CME credit for lead authors; and fast, device-responsive display of content (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026). The journal's editorial philosophy, as stated in its 10th-anniversary reflection, is to be "one-stop shopping" for oncology clinical science — science that impacts patient care (source: muckrack.com listing of the journal's "A Decade of JAMA Oncology" editorial, accessed October 2026).

The JAMA Network Family

JAMA Oncology is part of the JAMA Network, a consortium of peer-reviewed general medical and specialty publications from the American Medical Association. At its launch JAMA Oncology was the network's 11th journal; the network now also includes JAMA, JAMA Cardiology, JAMA Dermatology, JAMA Health Forum, JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Network Open, JAMA Neurology, JAMA Ophthalmology, JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Psychiatry, and JAMA Surgery (sources: ama-assn.org, accessed October 2026; Wikipedia, "List of American Medical Association journals," accessed October 2026).

Continuing education across the network is delivered through JN Learning (the AMA Ed Hub), which provides CME and maintenance-of-certification credit from articles and audio published across all JAMA Network journals (source: edhub.ama-assn.org; depth-jama.html project file).

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is JAMA Oncology?

JAMA Oncology is an international peer-reviewed oncology journal published by the American Medical Association and a member of the JAMA Network. It describes itself as "the definitive journal for scientists, clinicians, and trainees in the field of oncology" (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

When was JAMA Oncology founded?

The AMA announced the journal on 22 September 2014; it launched online on 12 February 2015 with its first print edition in April 2015. It was the JAMA Network's first new journal since 1999 (sources: ama-assn.org; radiologybusiness.com).

Who is the Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Oncology?

Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD — the founding editor-in-chief, still leading the journal per its official pages. She is a UW professor, cancer immunotherapy researcher (pioneer of HER-2/neu as a tumor antigen), director of the UW Cancer Vaccine Institute, and Helen B. Slonaker Endowed Professor for Cancer Research (sources: jamanetwork.com For Authors page; hemonc.uw.edu).

What is JAMA Oncology's impact factor?

23.9 on the journal's official For Authors page (updated July 2026), described as "one of the highest ranking among oncology journals." The 2021 impact factor was 33.006, ranked 10th of 246 journals in "Oncology" (Wikipedia citing the 2022 JCR release). Figures are updated annually — check the journal's official pages for the current values.

What is JAMA Oncology's acceptance rate?

8% of all submissions, per the journal's official For Authors page (updated July 2026).

How often is JAMA Oncology published?

Online weekly, every Thursday, plus 12 print/online issues per year; all major articles are published Online First (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

Is JAMA Oncology open access?

It is a subscription journal with no author fees: all research articles become free online 12 months after publication (and free for institutions in developing countries via WHO's HINARI program). Authors can elect immediate open access for a $6,000 USD article processing charge (the JAMA Network Specialty Journal rate), with waivers available for developing countries. All research articles are deposited in PubMed Central (sources: jamanetwork.com For Authors page; jamanetwork.com/pages/access-resource-center).

How do I submit a manuscript to JAMA Oncology?

Manuscripts are submitted online at manuscripts.jamaonc.com. Consult the official Instructions for Authors first for the correct article type and requirements (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

What article types does JAMA Oncology publish?

Original Investigations (3,000 words), short reports (1,200 words), Research Letters (800 words), clinical trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews, Reviews, Special Communications (presubmission inquiry required), Viewpoints/opinion (1,200 words), humanities pieces, and Letters to the Editor (source: jamanetwork.com Instructions for Authors).

How fast is JAMA Oncology's review process?

The median time to first decision is 3 days without external peer review and 32 days with review. Expedited peer review and online publication are available for select clinical trials, major studies, or reports with urgent public health importance (source: jamanetwork.com For Authors page, updated July 2026).

What are the main topics JAMA Oncology covers?

All aspects of medical, radiation, and surgical oncology and subspecialties — framed on the journal homepage as cancer treatment, genetics, and prevention — including laboratory, translational, clinical, and health-services research, plus evolving clinical and policy issues (sources: ama-assn.org; jamanetwork.com).

Does JAMA Oncology allow AI-assisted writing?

The Instructions for Authors state that the use of AI, LLMs, and chatbots to draft opinion manuscripts, humanities pieces, poetry, and letters to the editor is not permitted (source: jamanetwork.com Instructions for Authors, accessed October 2026).

What is the JAMA Network?

A consortium of peer-reviewed general medical and specialty publications from the AMA. At JAMA Oncology's launch it was the network's 11th journal; the network now includes JAMA plus specialty journals (Cardiology, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery), JAMA Network Open, and JAMA Health Forum (sources: ama-assn.org; Wikipedia).

Profile compiled October 2026 from official JAMA/AMA sources listed in the accompanying sources file. Metrics and policies change over time — always verify current figures on the journal's official pages before citing or acting on them.