Format your manuscript to the Molecular Cancer Therapeutics requirements — abstract, AACR numbered references, and required declarations — and submit through the AACR submission site (eJournalPress) without a formatting rejection.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
Getting past the desk at Molecular Cancer Therapeutics is usually less about the research and more about matching the journal’s exact submission rules. This template is built around MCT’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, AACR numbered references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the MCT author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
It’s a manuscript shell set up to MCT’s specifications for the discovery and preclinical development of cancer therapeutics. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics is published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in AACR numbered style.
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an unstructured abstract within the journal's limit (commonly ≤250 words). The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses AACR numbered. Close with the declarations block: ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability.
The details that trip up most first submissions: an abstract over the word limit, figures/tables that exceed the article-type caps, and missing conflict-of-interest disclosures. Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep AACR numbered formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through the AACR submission site (eJournalPress) — email submissions aren’t processed.
The shell mirrors what MCT’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, AACR numbered reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the MCT journal home page. MCT offers an open-access option; check the current article-processing charge and any waiver before you commit. Manuscripts go in through the AACR submission site (eJournalPress), which also tracks your paper through peer review.
| Element | MCT requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an unstructured abstract within the journal's limit (commonly ≤250 words) |
| Main text | Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability |
| Figures / tables | Captioned, cited in order; check format and resolution rules in the guide |
| Supplemental | Large datasets, extra tables, code — uploaded separately and cited in text |
| Submission | the AACR submission site (eJournalPress) |
Read the MCT author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set AACR numbered as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Skim two or three recent MCT papers to calibrate depth, structure, and figure style. State your contribution in the first two paragraphs, not on page ten. Write a data-availability statement that names a real repository rather than a placeholder, and disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in your cover letter. Confirm current open-access pricing and any institutional agreement before committing to a fee.
Do one focused pass against the MCT author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, AACR numbered references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — an abstract over the word limit, figures/tables that exceed the article-type caps, and missing conflict-of-interest disclosures. Then submit through the AACR submission site (eJournalPress).