Unfolding Ariadne’s thread in the scientific publications’ labyrinth

The ecosystem of publishing scientific manuscripts has evolved rapidly the last two decades following the unprecedented development of digital technologies. From the perspective of the reader, one can reach published manuscripts through the web, may receive newsletters with new publications according to his personalized interests or even get information through social media and webpages for upcoming releases. From the perspective of the author, the number of available peer-reviewed journals to publish his/her work has significantly increased, while technology has simplified the process of article submission and final production.

The most significant changes though have occurred in the field of the publishers. Established publishing groups have grown significantly through merges and expansion, in a race aiming to cover contemporary publishing needs. They have also transformed the publishing methods, introducing new journal titles with “open access” opportunities in an attempt to compete with the raising “predator” publishing group phenomenon. This also reflects the changes in the “market” of scientific publishing, since new areas of the world – mainly China and developing countries – struggle to bring up their ever growing scientific production. Amidst this competitive environment, a question emerges: “Is there a role for a non-profitable medical journal originated from a scientific society and which unmet need it can fulfill to continue its operation?”

Despite this seems quite an idealistic target in the era of harsh financial competition among publishing groups, it is also its major advantage. Obviously, all scientists would like to publish their work in a “high-profile” journal with a high impact factor. However, this will occur for a minority of publications. Even more, data regarding a national population may be of minor interest for the worldwide audience, but could be very helpful for the implementation of therapeutic modalities at the local level. In addition, young scientists need the support from a scientific journal in their initial attempts to gain a broader audience for their work. The “Forum of Clinical Oncology” (FCO) fits in this gap. FCO was established in 2010 as the official journal of the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology (HeSMO). In fact, it was the evolution of the previous official journal of HeSMO entitled “Βήμα Κλινικής Ογκολογίας” that was published in Greek since 1997. It is a non-profitable journal aimed from its beginning at promoting national and regional scientific production in the field of Oncology.

FCO will actively pursue the aforementioned goals and this is reflected in this new issue. Important data from a colorectal cancer patients’ registry in Greece [1] as well as a cohort from malignant bone sarcomas in Egypt [2] are presented. In addition, a learning and teaching tool is examined for the application of outcome-based education in Oncology [3]. Finally, the emerging role of the Hippo pathway in sarcomas is comprehensively presented [4].

We regard this issue, as the first step towards a new era of FCO. So let’s unfold the thread…