Each new summary is reviewed by two independent reviewers, the respective Responsible Editor and the Senior Editor, and is approved by the Advisory Committee. If required, the summary is revised by CAM-Cancer’s professional proofreader.
Task of scientific reviewers
The aim is to ensure that CAM Cancer summaries are prepared in accordance with the standards outlined in the manual.
Review process
- The Senior Editor checks the received CAM Cancer summary and forwards it to the respective Responsible Editor. If major issues are identified at this stage, the summary needs to be revised before peer review. Otherwise the summary is sent to the two appointed reviewers.
- The Responsible Editor checks the evaluation and recommendations provided by the two independent reviewers, and together with the Senior Editor prepares feedback for the author. Direct discussions between editors, reviewers and authors can take place.
- The author amends the summary; the modified version has to be approved by the reviewers and/or Responsible Editor.
- Once the document has been approved by the reviewers, the Responsible Editor and the Senior Editor, it is sent to the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee can raise major concerns within 48 hours; if any major concerns are raised, they need to be addressed by the author and editors.
- After that, the document is published on the website at cam-cancer.org
- For updates, minor updates are reviewed by the Responsible Editor and Senior Editor. Major updates are fully peer reviewed.
Reviewing methods
Reviewer should assess the following four main quality criteria:
- completeness and comprehensiveness of the document,
- topicality,
- neutrality,
- user-friendliness.
A reviewer checklist is available upon request but reviewers can use free text or insert comments directly in the text.
The Responsible Editor ensures that there is consistency between reviewers’ comments. In case of major disagreement between the author and the reviewers or between the reviewers themselves, the Responsible Editor will try to reach consensus. If no agreement can be found, the Senior Editor and/or the Advisory Committee shall make a decision.
