Cancer Discovery Template
Get your Cancer Discovery paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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How to Use the Cancer Discovery Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 3 August, 2026
Submitting to Cancer Discovery goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Cancer Discovery guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
What is the Cancer Discovery Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Cancer Discovery. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Cancer Discovery journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a Cancer Discov submission:
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Cancer Discovery guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Cancer Discovery guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Cancer Discovery Template include?
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
Steps to Use This Template with SciSpace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The SciSpace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for Cancer Discov.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Cancer Discovery guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through the journal's submission system.
Cancer Discovery Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | Cancer Discov requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Research Articles: 150-word abstract (unstructured; no specific headings mandated). Research Briefs: 150-word abstract (unstructured; no specific headings mandated). Reviews: 100-word abstract (unstructured; no specific headings mandated). Mini Reviews: 100-word abstract (unstructured; no specific headings mandated). Letters to the Editor: No abstract requirements specified. All abstracts must be concise and accurately outline content including purpose, experimental technique, results, and data interpretations. Abbreviations must be explained at first mention. References are not allowed in abstracts |
| Main text | Word counts exclude references, tables, and figure legends. Research Articles: 6,000 words. Section order: title page, abstract, statement of significance, introduction, results, discussion, methods, references, tables, table legends, figure legends, figures. Results and Discussion sections must not be combined. Research Briefs: 3,500 words. Same section order as Research Articles; Results and Discussion must not be combined. Reviews: 7,000 words. Mini Reviews: 4,000 words. Letters to the Editor: 500 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Not requested. The author guidelines specify to include important terms relevant to manuscript content in the title and abstract to assist indexers and searchers, but do not require a separate keyword list |
| References | Numeric style. References numbered in order of first mention in the text. For manuscripts with more than 6 authors, list first 6 authors followed by "et al."; for 6 or fewer authors, list all. Journal names abbreviated (e.g., N Engl J Med). Reference limits by article type: Research Articles: 50 references; Research Briefs: 25 references; Reviews: 75 references; Mini Reviews: 50 references; Letters to the Editor: 5 references. Preprints and protocols cited in main text via repository ID or DOI, not in reference list. At initial submission, reference formatting is flexible; journal style required for revised manuscripts |
| Peer review | Single-blind peer review. Quote from AACR Journals Editorial Process page: "The single-blind peer review process used by all AACR journals is managed by a handling editor who is responsible for assigning appropriate expert external reviewers based on the scientific content of the manuscript and the expertise needed to evaluate the technical rigor and importance of the work being reported." |
| Submission | preflight.paperpal.com/partner/aacr/candiscovery/submit |
Quick Tips for Using the Cancer Discovery Template
Read the Cancer Discovery guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Cancer Discovery in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent Cancer Discov papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Cancer Discovery journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Cancer Discovery guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.
