Human and Animal Rights Policy

Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine (CSMM) is committed to the ethical treatment of both human participants and animal subjects involved in research published in the journal, consistent with internationally recognized standards.

Human Rights

All research involving human participants — including clinical studies, case reports, and research using patient-derived tissue, blood, or genomic samples — must be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, in its current, most recently revised version. This includes respect for participant autonomy, privacy, dignity, and the right to withdraw from a study at any time without consequence.

Vulnerable populations — including minors, cognitively impaired individuals, and economically or socially disadvantaged patients (particularly relevant given the global and often resource-limited settings in which oncology research is conducted) — require additional ethical safeguards, and studies involving such populations are subject to heightened editorial scrutiny.

Procedural requirements for documenting ethical approval and informed consent are set out in full in the journal's Ethical Approvals and Informed Consent policy.

Animal Rights

Research involving animal subjects (including xenograft and genetically engineered mouse models commonly used in oncology research) must be conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and applicable national and institutional animal welfare regulations.

The journal endorses the principle of the 3Rs — Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement — encouraging researchers to:

  • Replace animal models with non-animal methods wherever scientifically valid alternatives exist
  • Reduce the number of animals used to the minimum necessary for statistically valid, reproducible results
  • Refine procedures to minimize pain, distress, and suffering

Procedural requirements for documenting institutional animal ethics committee approval are set out in the journal's Ethical Approvals and Informed Consent policy.

Enforcement

Manuscripts that raise concerns regarding compliance with human or animal rights standards will be returned to the authors for clarification, and may be rejected or, if identified post-publication, retracted, in accordance with the journal's Misconduct and Sanctions policy.