Dear Colleagues,
Let me begin by congratulating everyone who contributed to
the exciting achievement of the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), the
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) open access, peer-reviewed online
journal, on its first impact factor of 8.374!
As many of you know, an impact factor – a calculation of the
number of citations a publication's articles received in a year by the total
number of articles published – quickly communicates to prospective authors the
reach and quality of research a publication possesses. The JITC impact factor
is the next big step toward an even brighter future for our society's online
publication.
Much of the credit goes to JITC Editor-in-Chief Pedro J.
Romero, MD, and the many SITC member experts who serve as section editors and
reviewers on the journals' Editorial Board. However, JITC would not be what it
is today – or further, what it is becoming – without the contributions from the
many authors who have submitted their field-changing research to JITC.
Now, five years after our society's launch of JITC, this
achievement provides significant validation to the journal as a premier
destination for cancer immunotherapy research. I encourage all prospective
authors in our field to submit to JITC when considering a venue for your work.
Among the most valuable of JITC's publications are the
consensus statements submitted as part of the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy
Guidelines. These immunotherapy treatment recommendations play a critical role
in educating oncologists and other members of the patient care team on current
standards involving U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer
immunotherapy treatments for a growing list of disease states. SITC expanded
its Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines offerings in May when it updated its
recommendations on cutaneous melanoma. A manuscript on non-small cell lung
cancer is slated to publish in JITC next month.
We're also disseminating these guidelines broadly to
increase access. This includes a new, interactive series of SITC Cancer
Immunotherapy Guidelines Webinars. These live events will take place
approximately two months after manuscript publication and will allow authors to
go further in-depth about the treatment recommendations, answer questions and
discuss any late-breaking advances in the field since publication.
The first SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines Webinar will
take place Monday, July 30, 6–7 p.m. EDT, focusing on the recent update of the
guidelines for cutaneous melanoma. Click here to register for this free opportunity.
The need for ongoing education for clinicians about the
latest advancements in immunotherapy for cancer has never been greater. At the
American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) 2018 Annual Meeting, SITC staff
fielded numerous questions from attendees, and served as a resource to many
visitors of our society's booth at ASCO 2018. If you would like to review
highlights of the meeting, SITC published daily scientific reports from the
ASCO Annual Meeting, log in to your SITC CONNECT account to access our staffreports from each day of the meeting.
In closing, as you enjoy a little lull in your scientific
activities over the summer, and write up the results of your recent studies, I
hope you will send those data to JITC, where the new 8.374 impact factor will
assure great exposure to your colleagues.
Sincerely,
Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD
SITC President