Aims and Scope

The journal aims to publish rigorous, transparent research that describes how skin cancer arises and is distributed in populations, evaluates ways of detecting and preventing it, and informs the people who plan programs and policy. It also supports methodological work on how skin cancer data are collected, analyzed and reported.

The journal follows skin cancer across the population chain. Topics include, but are not limited to, the areas below.

1. Exposure

   Ultraviolet radiation, sun protection, indoor tanning, occupational and environmental exposures

2. Risk

   Behavioral, genetic and environmental determinants; skin cancer in particular populations

3. Detection

   Screening programs, early detection strategies, biomarkers

4. Incidence

   Melanoma and non-melanoma trends, survival, geographic and demographic disparities

5. Prevention

   Public health interventions, policy evaluation, health services research

• Melanoma epidemiology: incidence, mortality and survival patterns
• Non-melanoma skin cancer, including basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma
• Surveillance, cancer registries and monitoring methods
• Statistical modeling: spatial, temporal and burden-of-disease analysis
• Skin cancer in specific groups, such as children, older adults, outdoor workers and transplant recipients
• Inequalities in risk, detection, treatment access and outcome

Clinical-outcome studies, including research on diagnosis, dermoscopy, treatment and photosensitivity, are welcome when their findings inform questions about populations, for example outcomes in large cohorts, effects of screening, or differences in care across groups.

The journal's focus is population-level questions. Reports concerned only with the management of an individual patient fall outside its scope.

The journal considers the following article types. Requirements are given in the Instructions for Authors.

1. 01Original Research
2. 02Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
3. 03Methods
4. 04Short Communication
5. 05Data Note
6. 06Policy Analysis
7. 07Surveillance Report
8. 08Case Report
9. 09Commentary
10. 10Letter

Research involving human participants requires approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board, where applicable, and informed consent or a documented waiver. Studies using registry or other secondary data state whether ethics review was required. Research is reported following the guideline that matches its design, for example STROBE, RECORD, PRISMA or CARE.

See Editorial Policies for the full policies.

Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.

All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.

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.