"The JCO is committed to improving cancer care worldwide by providing a forum for sound, peer-reviewed clinical cancer research, and by increasing access to this essential information," said Charles M. Balch, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of ASCO. "In September 2003, the JCO took an important first step toward this goal by providing public health institutions in more than 100 developing countries free, or significantly discounted, online access. Now, the JCO is going a step further by providing free online access to archived JCO research for all, including teaching institutions, practicing oncologists, and the general public."
Online readers will be able to access JCO research that is more than 12 months old without a subscription; this includes articles published from January 1999 to the present, all ASCO Clinical Practice Guidelines and Special Articles, the "Art of Oncology" series, all editorials, and the correspondence section. Research from January through March 2003 will be released immediately, and the remaining research dating from 1999 will become available over the next several weeks.
The JCO currently has more than 25,000 subscribers, and is published twice a month in English, bimonthly in Polish, and quarterly in Spanish. A monthly English-language edition is also published in China. In addition, selected articles are translated into French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian. Plans are under way to post these translations on the JCO website where they would be available under the same free access policy.
The JCO is also part of the World Health Organization's Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), which aims to strengthen public health services by providing public health workers, researchers, and policy makers access to high-quality, relevant, and timely medical information. Institutions in countries with a gross national product (GNP) per capita below $1,000 are currently eligible for free access to all JCO articles immediately upon publication. Institutions in countries with a GNP per capita between $1,000 and $3,000 are eligible for immediate access at reduced rates.
ASCO is the world's leading professional society of multidisciplinary medical professionals who treat people with cancer. ASCO's more than 20,000 members from the U.S. and abroad set the standard for patient care worldwide and lead the fight for more effective cancer treatments, increased funding for clinical and translational research, and, ultimately, cures for the many different types of cancer that strike an estimated 10 million people worldwide each year. ASCO publishes the semi-monthly Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the preeminent, peer-reviewed, medical journal on clinical cancer research, and produces People Living With Cancer (www.PLWC.org), an award-winning website providing oncologist-vetted cancer information to help patients and families make informed healthcare decisions.
Journal
Journal of Clinical Oncology