Celebrating 25 Years of Annals of Surgical Oncology
Born from a vision to promote scientific research and education and to advance the profession of surgical oncology, Annals of Surgical Oncology (ASO) has become the journal of choice for cancer surgeons around the globe. Founded by Charles M. Balch, MD, the growth and prestige of the journal is rooted in four fundamental strategies that were established at the journal’s onset. These strategies were a result of functional needs of the Society and a savvy business vision designed to elevate the journal and the Society. These strategies included: 1.) ownership of copyright, 2.) publication of content across all solid tumors, making the journal a resource for all cancer surgeons, 3.) decentralized governance with section editors responsible for peer review, and 4.) a venue for Society Presidential Addresses and other important commentaries.
The mission of ASO is to disseminate important research findings and practice-changing results, and to provide educational value to its readership. One mechanism of dissemination, and a measurement of the journal’s scientific value, is the number of times ASO articles are cited in the literature, the yearly average of which is the journal’s impact factor (2016 ASO impact factor, 4.041). ASO 
is unique in that it also publishes significantly more articles than other surgical journals in the field. In fact, the totality of citations of ASO articles during a year make it the most cited surgical journal. From 2003 – 2017, ASO articles had 41,238 citations. An indicator of the educational value of the journal is the number of article downloads. From 2005 – 2016, ASO had over 5.8 million article downloads. It is expected that in 2018, more than 1 million ASO articles will be downloaded and accessed.
Charles M. Balch, MD said, “I never imagined at the beginning that after 25 years Annals of Surgical Oncology would be one of the leading surgical journals in the world. It is like when you plant a seed, you don’t know what is going to happen and then you look. You say to yourself, ‘Oh, my goodness – It is like a giant sequoia tree.’ I had no idea about how much value it would bring to the global cancer community and how fast it grew. Most of the top journals are about 100 years old.”
ASO is highly valued among cancer surgeons regardless of practice setting or stage of career. Below, SSO members share their thoughts about the journal.
“Annals of Surgical Oncology is a great resource for those who want to stay current on cancer topics. As a section editor and a health services researcher, I’m excited about how the journal approaches outcomes research and research that’s centered around cancer policy,” Sandra Wong, MD, William N and Bessie Allyn Professor and Chair of Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Treasurer of SSO.
“Annals of Surgical Oncology is the one journal that I read monthly rather than looking for information on PubMed. I like that it is inclusive of all solid tumor disease sites as I want to know what is happening in other sub-specialties,” Lucy De La Cruz, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Annals of Surgery Oncology has articles for everybody. It has basic science articles, articles about rare cancers and general articles that pertain to changing practice. And because of that, it is very applicable to surgical oncologists or general surgeons in the community,” Ned Z. Carp, MD, Surgical Oncologist, Lankenau Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, and SSO Executive Council Member.
“When Charles Balch started the journal, no one could have ever predicted that it was going to be the most widely read surgical journal about cancer. It’s a place where surgical oncologists or general surgeons treating cancer patients can go to get up-to-date, state-of-the art information. I think the Annals is an enormous success story and the credit for that really goes to Charles Balch,” Monica Morrow, MD, Chief of Breast Surgery, Ann Burnett-Winford Chair of Clinical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Annals of Surgical Oncology serves its readers by 1) representing and advancing the profession of surgical oncology throughout the nation and the world; 2) promoting the highest quality multidisciplinary patient care and practice management; 3) providing relevant cancer education and research training materials using print and electronic media; 4) promoting clinical and translational cancer research, with an emphasis on clinical trials; 5) facilitating the career development of surgical trainees and their transition into academic and community-based practice; and 6) promoting public policy and patient advocacy issues related to surgical patients with cancer.