Journal of Thyroid Cancer · Aims and Scope
Aims and Scope
Journal of Thyroid Cancer (JTC) publishes peer-reviewed research on thyroid malignancy — its biology, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes — across the laboratory, diagnostic and clinical disciplines that together manage the disease.
01 · Aims
What the journal exists to advance
Thyroid oncology brings together laboratory science, cytopathology, radiology, surgery, nuclear medicine, endocrinology, oncology, epidemiology, and patient-centered research. JTC provides a forum for work across these disciplines and applies a common standard of scientific and reporting quality.
Connect mechanism to management
Publish laboratory and translational work alongside the clinical evidence it bears on, so a molecular finding and the treatment decision it informs are readable together.
Report the whole disease course
Cover detection, diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment, and long-term outcomes across the thyroid-oncology continuum.
Hold clinical claims to their design
Publish retrospective, observational and single-center work where it is reported completely, and require conclusions to stay within what the design supports.
Give rare disease a venue
Anaplastic, medullary, oncocytic and rare primary thyroid malignancies are individually uncommon and collectively important; a single-disease journal can carry them.
Serve readers who treat the disease
Assume working knowledge of thyroid oncology. Publish for specialists rather than simplifying for a general audience.
Keep the record usable
Open access under CC BY 4.0, Crossref DOI registration and article metadata deposits, and metadata complete enough for the work to be found and cited.
02 · The disease
Thyroid malignancies and related neoplasms
JTC covers thyroid malignancies and related diagnostic boundaries. Terminology follows the current WHO classification of thyroid neoplasms. Authors using earlier nomenclature should identify the classification applied. Low-risk neoplasms are distinguished from carcinomas.
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Differentiated thyroid carcinoma
Papillary and follicular carcinoma of follicular-cell origin, including their histologic subtypes, and oncocytic carcinoma of the thyroid.
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High-grade follicular-cell-derived carcinoma
Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma and differentiated high-grade thyroid carcinoma — the aggressive non-anaplastic tumors between differentiated and anaplastic disease.
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Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma
Including the squamous pattern classified within anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, rapid diagnostic pathways, molecular testing at presentation, and multimodal management.
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Medullary thyroid carcinoma
Sporadic and hereditary disease, RET germline and somatic alteration, MEN2 syndromes, calcitonin-based diagnosis and follow-up.
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Rare primary thyroid malignancies
Primary thyroid lymphoma, sarcoma, salivary gland-type carcinomas, malignant thymic-type tumors, and other uncommon primary malignancies.
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Secondary and recurrent disease
Metastasis to the thyroid from other primaries, locoregional recurrence, and distant metastatic thyroid carcinoma.
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Low-risk and uncertain-potential neoplasms
Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and tumors of uncertain malignant potential, studied for diagnostic discrimination, malignancy risk, biology, or management consequences. NIFTP is a low-risk neoplasm, not thyroid carcinoma.
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Pediatric and familial thyroid cancer
Thyroid carcinoma in children and young adults, familial non-medullary thyroid cancer, and cancer arising after radiation exposure.
03 · Core scope
Core research areas
Eight areas, ordered as the disease is read. A manuscript that sits squarely in any one of them is in scope.
The course the journal reads across
- Biology
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Outcomes
- 01
Tumor biology and molecular pathogenesis
Driver alterations including BRAF, RAS, RET fusions and rearrangements, TERT promoter mutation and TP53; the signaling they dysregulate; epigenetic and chromosomal change; dedifferentiation; the tumor microenvironment and immune contexture; and experimental models of thyroid carcinoma.
- 02
Cytopathology and histopathology
Fine-needle aspiration and reporting categories, interobserver agreement, the indeterminate cytology problem, ancillary immunocytochemistry, frozen section, histologic subtyping, grading, and the diagnostic criteria that separate benign, borderline and malignant lesions.
- 03
Molecular diagnostics and biomarkers
Molecular testing of indeterminate nodules, classifier development and evaluation, circulating markers including thyroglobulin and calcitonin, liquid biopsy, and discovery or validation of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. Evidence should support the stage of development and the claims made.
- 04
Imaging and image-guided intervention
Ultrasound characterization and risk-stratification reporting systems, neck mapping, cross-sectional and functional imaging for staging and restaging, and percutaneous ablative and interventional technique.
- 05
Surgery and locoregional management
Extent of thyroidectomy and lobectomy, central and lateral compartment lymph-node management, preoperative and intraoperative decision-making, reoperative surgery, external-beam radiotherapy, complications including recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid outcomes, and surgical innovation.
- 06
Radioiodine and nuclear medicine
Patient selection and activity choice, dosimetry, remnant ablation and adjuvant treatment, post-therapy and diagnostic imaging, radiation protection, theranostic approaches, and the definition and management of radioiodine-refractory disease.
- 07
Systemic, targeted, and endocrine therapy
Multikinase and selective kinase inhibitors, RET-, BRAF- and NTRK-directed treatment, redifferentiation strategies, experimental and clinical immunotherapy research, resistance mechanisms, treatment sequencing, toxicity management, and thyroid hormone management, including benefits and risks of TSH suppression in differentiated thyroid cancer.
- 08
Risk, surveillance and outcomes
Etiology and risk factors; staging and risk-stratification systems; response-to-therapy reassessment; active surveillance of low-risk disease; recurrence; long-term oncologic and endocrine outcomes, including treatment-related late effects and second primary malignancies; survivorship, quality of life, and patient-reported outcomes; and epidemiology, overdiagnosis, disparities, and health-services research in thyroid cancer.
04 · Broader scope
Also clearly within scope
The following approaches and areas also contribute to thyroid oncology. Their inclusion depends on the research question and contribution, not on how often similar work has previously appeared in the journal.
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Computational and machine-learning research
Classification of ultrasound, cytology or histopathology images, risk and prognostic prediction, molecular classification, and treatment-response modeling. Methods development, simulation, and evaluation are within scope when their contribution to thyroid-oncology research or care is explicit. Report data provenance, relevant comparators, uncertainty, and validation appropriate to the study; prevent data leakage and distinguish model performance from clinical utility.
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Methods, techniques and technical notes
Laboratory, diagnostic, imaging, surgical and analytic methods developed for or validated in thyroid oncology, including reporting and measurement instruments.
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Evidence synthesis and guideline appraisal
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, scoping reviews, and critical appraisal of thyroid-cancer guidelines, classification systems and reporting standards.
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Survivorship and living with the disease
Long-term thyroid hormone management after treatment for cancer, fertility and pregnancy after therapy, psychosocial outcomes, and the consequences patients carry for decades after a favorable oncologic result.
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Care delivery and access
Multidisciplinary team working, referral and diagnostic pathways, regional and international variation in practice, cost and access, and disparities in thyroid-cancer care and outcome.
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Research integrity in thyroid oncology
Reporting quality, reproducibility, data sharing and methodological critique within the thyroid-cancer literature.
05 · Interdisciplinary research
One rule for adjacent disciplines
JTC draws on many fields, and none of them is in or out of scope as a discipline. The question is always the same: does the manuscript make a substantive contribution to understanding, diagnosing, treating or measuring outcomes in thyroid cancer? A thyroid dataset, a thyroid cell line or a passing mention of the gland is not by itself a contribution.
- Endocrinology
- In scope where the question concerns malignancy — nodule evaluation, cancer risk, treatment or post-treatment management of a patient with thyroid carcinoma.
- Endocrine and head-and-neck surgery
- In scope where the operation, its indication or its outcome concerns thyroid malignancy.
- Nuclear medicine
- In scope for thyroid-cancer imaging, radioiodine and theranostic treatment, dosimetry and radiation protection in this setting.
- Pathology and cytopathology
- In scope where diagnosis, classification, grading or prognostication of a thyroid tumor is central.
- Radiology
- In scope where thyroid-cancer detection, characterization, staging, restaging or image-guided treatment is central.
- Medical oncology
- In scope where thyroid malignancy is the disease under study, including trials, real-world evidence, and toxicity.
- Genetics and genomics
- In scope where thyroid-cancer biology, inherited risk, diagnosis, prognosis or therapy selection is central.
- Epidemiology and public health
- In scope where thyroid-cancer incidence, mortality, screening, overdiagnosis, disparities, access or health systems are the subject.
- Data science and engineering
- In scope where a thyroid-cancer question drives the work and the result is interpretable by the clinicians or scientists who would use it.
- Nursing, allied health and patient research
- In scope where the work concerns thyroid-cancer care, patient and caregiver experiences, active surveillance, or outcomes during and after treatment.
06 · Boundary
Benign thyroid disease
JTC focuses on thyroid oncology. Benign conditions and indeterminate nodules fall within scope when the research addresses cancer risk, tumor biology, diagnostic discrimination, or consequences for cancer care. Eligibility depends on the research question, including studies whose participants or samples ultimately have benign diagnoses.
In scope
Benign disease studied for what it means for cancer: nodule evaluation and malignancy risk, cytologic and histologic discrimination, molecular testing of indeterminate lesions, imaging interpretation, surgical decision-making in the possibly malignant nodule, incidental cancer in surgery for benign disease, and screening or surveillance.
Generally outside scope
Thyroid dysfunction and its management as subjects in their own right — hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Graves disease, thyroiditis, simple or endemic goiter, iodine nutrition and routine hormone replacement — where no thyroid-cancer question is addressed.
The test
Does the study address a defined question about thyroid-cancer risk, biology, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or follow-up? A contribution to understanding or evaluating that question can establish scope fit without demonstrating an immediate change in clinical practice.
07 · Article types
What the journal accepts
The standard article types with confirmed manuscript guidance and published charges are research articles, review articles, methods and tools papers, and short communications. Case reports, case series, editorials, and commentaries are editorial-agreement types; authors should confirm the manuscript format, length, and applicable charge with the editorial office before submission. Consult the instructions for authors for preparation guidance. Apply reporting standards appropriate to the design, such as CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, STARD, or ARRIVE, where applicable.
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Research articles
Laboratory, translational, diagnostic, clinical, epidemiologic, qualitative, and outcomes studies. Mechanistic, observational, single-center, small-sample, replication, and null-result studies are eligible by subject fit; the design, analysis, reporting, and conclusions must support the contribution claimed.
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Review articles
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, scoping reviews and narrative reviews on a defined thyroid-oncology question.
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Methods and tools
Laboratory, diagnostic, imaging, surgical or analytic methods, including technical notes, developed for or validated in thyroid oncology.
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Short communications
Complete but concise studies, and early findings whose interest does not depend on a larger series.
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Case reports and case series
Cases and series should provide a transferable thyroid-oncology lesson, such as a diagnostic pitfall, unusual presentation, molecular observation, treatment response, or complication. A single case can generate hypotheses but cannot establish general efficacy or causation. Use CARE for case reports and reporting guidance appropriate to the design for case series. Case reports require documented consent to publish; case series require ethics approvals and consent arrangements appropriate to their design.
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Editorials and commentary
Editorials and commentary address defined questions in thyroid oncology. Proposals may be sent to the editorial office before submission.
08 · Outside scope
What generally does not fit
These are not judgments of quality. Each describes work that a different journal is better placed to review and that a thyroid-cancer readership is unlikely to use. Where a condition is given, meeting it brings the work back into scope.
- General endocrinology without a thyroid-oncology question Pituitary, adrenal, parathyroid, gonadal, bone, and metabolic disease fall outside scope unless the study addresses a substantive thyroid-oncology question, such as medullary carcinoma risk or care in MEN2.
- Benign thyroid disease as a subject in itself In scope where the work addresses thyroid-cancer biology, risk, detection, diagnosis, or management.
- Other primary cancers without a substantive thyroid-oncology question Metastases to the thyroid, thyroid cancer arising after treatment for another cancer, and second primary cancers or shared predisposition studied in relation to thyroid cancer remain within scope.
- General head-and-neck or endocrine surgery Where the research question is unrelated to thyroid malignancy or its diagnostic evaluation.
- Generic cancer biology using thyroid-derived cells A thyroid cell line does not make a study thyroid-cancer research; the biology must be interpreted for this disease.
- Computational work without a substantive thyroid-oncology contribution A convenient thyroid benchmark alone is insufficient. A methodological contribution is eligible when it addresses a defined thyroid-oncology use or research problem and is evaluated accordingly; clinical deployment is not required for scope fit.
- Thyroid hormone physiology and pharmacology without a cancer connection Eligible work includes experimental models, cancer risk, tumor biology, and endocrine management during or after thyroid-cancer care.
- Case reports without a transferable lesson A typical presentation managed conventionally, however well described.
Evidence and editorial assessment
Scope eligibility is distinct from methodological quality. Claims of efficacy, superiority, or causation require evidence appropriate to the claim, and unsupported claims require revision or may preclude acceptance.
Authors who are unsure may send a title, abstract and one sentence on the thyroid-cancer relevance to the editorial office before submitting.
09 · Submission fit
Does my manuscript belong in JTC?
The first question establishes subject fit; the next two describe the contribution and readiness for editorial evaluation. Basic and exploratory work is assessed through methods, reporting, and conclusions appropriate to the study design.
- Is there a defined thyroid-oncology question?
The question may concern thyroid malignancy, its risk, the benign–malignant diagnostic boundary, or its care and consequences. The manuscript should connect its material, methods, and conclusions to a defined thyroid-oncology question.
- Is the contribution substantive?
Would a clinician or scientist working in thyroid cancer change, check or build on something because of this work?
- Do the claims match the design?
Are the conclusions held to what the methods, cohort and analysis actually support?
Where to go next
Read on
Scope is one of several things an author weighs. These pages answer the rest.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Journal of Thyroid Cancer (JTC) · ISSN 2574-4496 · Crossref DOI prefix 10.14302 · published open access by Open Access Pub under CC BY 4.0, with copyright retained by authors. Editorial decisions are independent of any fee, service, membership or role.