Nature Cancer Template
Writing for Nature Cancer? This template gives you a submission-ready structure—sections, abstract, and references—so you focus on the research, not the formatting.
4.6
How to Use the Nature Cancer Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
Submitting to Nature Cancer goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Nature Cancer 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 Nature Cancer Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Nature Cancer. 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 Nature Cancer journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a NC 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 Nature Cancer 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 Nature Cancer guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Nature Cancer 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 editorial policies. When your draft is ready, upload it through the Nature Portfolio 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 NC.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Nature Cancer 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 Nature Portfolio submission system.
Nature Cancer Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | NC requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract. Articles, Analysis, Resource, and Technical Reports: up to 150 words, unreferenced. Brief Communications: brief unreferenced abstract of 3 sentences, up to 70 words. Reviews: abstract word limit not specified in the guide. |
| Main text | Section order and length per article type |
| Declarations | Ethics, competing interests, funding, data as required |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Not requested (journal does not use author keywords) |
| References | Numbered/numerical references only (Nature style). For long-form manuscripts (Articles, Letters, Review Articles, Perspectives, Progress Articles), titles of cited articles are required. For shorter article types (Commentaries, News & Views), titles of cited articles are not included. References should be numbered sequentially in order: Main Text, Methods, Data Availability Section, Tables, Figure Legends, Box, Extended Data Figures. |
| Peer review | Single-blind (single-anonymous) by default - reviewer identities are not released to authors unless reviewers voluntarily sign their reports. Double-blind (double-anonymous) peer review option is available at author's choice at submission. |
| Submission | nature.com |
Quick Tips for Using the Nature Cancer Template
Read the Nature Cancer 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 Nature Cancer in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent NC 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 Nature Cancer 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 Nature Cancer guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the Nature Portfolio submission system.
