Top 20 Oncology Journals of 2022

Whether you are trying to decide where to publish your research findings, searching for a thought-provoking publication to share at journal club, or simply interested in exploring the latest literature, this article is likely to help you to achieve your aims. We have outlined the rankings of the best journals from the field of Oncology according to impact factor, Google’s h5-index, and the scoring system of the research group SCImago.

Note that this article focuses on the “general” rankings of scientific journals related to Oncology. If you would prefer to consider the rankings of journals dedicated to particular sub-topics within the field then this article may not satisfy your needs.

If the accessibility of a journal is of importance to you, keep in mind that the journals we have listed may not have open access status.

Historically, quantitative metrics such as impact factor have provided an objective method for comparing the relative influence and prestige of competing journals. However, the quality of a journal should be assessed holistically and not be based on metrics alone.

In addition to considering the data in this article, we encourage you to visit the website of each journal where you can learn about its purpose and scope, editorial board and practices, and detailed metrics beyond impact factor, which will better inform your search.

Google ranks scientific journals using the h5-index, an index that considers publications in the journal over the past 5 years and that is intended to take into account both the number and quality of publications.

Google’s h5-index value is calculated to maximize both the number of published papers and the number of citations. According to wikipedia, the “h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given author/journal has published h papers that have each been cited at least h times.”

SCImago, a data science and visualization research group from Spain, has also ranked the top journals in Oncology. Their most recent release is for the year 2021.

The SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) considers not only the number of citations but also the relative prestige of the citation sources, with greater rank enhancement provided by citations from high prestige journals. The SJR is normalized to 1 with an SJR greater than 1 indicating “above average” citation potential.

Data regarding the impact factor of each journal represents the current two-year impact factor as identified by the Journal Citation Reports. Check out our article on the history, definition, and implications of impact factor for more information on the metric.

Interested in learning how to improve the quality of your manuscript? Consider reading “How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper” (affiliate link) by Robert Day and Barbara Gastel. This engaging text has been described as “[required reading] for anybody embarking on a career in science” and “important guidance” even for accomplished scientists.

Top 20 Oncology Journals Ranked by Google (2022)

1. Journal of Clinical Oncology – h5-index: 213
2. The Lancet Oncology – h5-index: 196
3. Annals of Oncology – h5-index: 141
4. Clinical Cancer Research – h5-index: 140
5. JAMA Oncology – h5-index: 133
6. Cancer Cell – h5-index: 132
7. Nature Reviews Cancer – h5-index: 131
8. Cancer Research – h5-index: 129
9. Oncotarget – h5-index: 125
10. Cancer Discovery – h5-index: 123
11. Molecular Cancer – h5-index: 112
12. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology – h5-index: 106
13. Oncogene – h5-index: 99
14. Journal of Thoracic Oncology – h5-index: 94
15. Cancer Letters – h5-index: 93
16. European Journal of Cancer – h5-index: 91
17. Leukemia – h5-index: 90
18. Neuro-Oncology – h5-index: 89
19. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute – h5-index: 88
20. Cancer – h5-index: 87

Top 20 Oncology Journals Ranked by SCImago (2021)

1. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians – Journal Ranking: 56.204
2. Nature Reviews Cancer – Journal Ranking: 16.955
3. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology – Journal Ranking: 11.764
4. The Lancet Oncology – Journal Ranking: 11.710
5. Cancer Cell – Journal Ranking: 9.975
6. Journal of Clinical Oncology – Journal Ranking: 9.378
7. Annals of Oncology – Journal Ranking: 8.590
8. JAMA Oncology – Journal Ranking: 7.502
9. Molecular Cancer – Journal Ranking: 6.896
10. Nature Cancer – Journal Ranking: 6.186
11. Cancer Discovery – Journal Ranking: 6.084
12. Journal of the National Cancer Institute – Journal Ranking: 4.760
13. Journal of Thoracic Oncology – Journal Ranking: 4.744
14. Clinical Cancer Research – Journal Ranking: 4.399
15. Journal of Hematology and Oncology – Journal Ranking: 4.241
16. Leukemia – Journal Ranking: 4.030
17. Annual Review of Cancer Biology – Journal Ranking: 3.881
18. Drug Resistance Updates – Journal Ranking: 3.845
19. Trends in Cancer – Journal Ranking: 3.456
20. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer – Journal Ranking: 3.450

Top 50 Oncology Journals Ranked by Impact Factor (2022)

1. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians – Impact Factor: 508.702
2. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology – Impact Factor: 66.675
3. Nature Reviews Cancer – Impact Factor: 60.716
4. Journal of Clinical Oncology – Impact Factor: 44.544
5. Lancet Oncology – Impact Factor: 41.316
6. Cancer Discovery – Impact Factor: 39.397
7. Annals of Oncology – Impact Factor: 32.976
8. Jama Oncology – Impact Factor: 31.777
9. Cancer Cell – Impact Factor: 31.743
10. Molecular Cancer – Impact Factor: 27.401
11. Journal of Hematology and Oncology – Impact Factor: 17.388
12. Seminars in Cancer Biology – Impact Factor: 15.707
13. Journal of Thoracic Oncology – Impact Factor: 15.609
14. Trends in Cancer – Impact Factor: 14.226
15. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer – Impact Factor: 13.751
16. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute – Impact Factor: 13.506
17. Cancer Research – Impact Factor: 12.701
18. Clinical Cancer Research – Impact Factor: 12.531
19. Neuro-Oncology – Impact Factor: 12.300
20. Cancer Treatment Reviews – Impact Factor: 12.111
21. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network – Impact Factor: 11.908
22. Liver Cancer – Impact Factor: 11.740
23. Leukemia – Impact Factor: 11.528
24. Clinical and Translational Medicine – Impact Factor: 11.492
25. Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research – Impact Factor: 11.161
26. Cancer Immunology Research – Impact Factor: 11.151
27. Blood Cancer Journal – Impact Factor: 11.037
28. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: Reviews on Cancer – Impact Factor: 10.680
29. Cancer Communications – Impact Factor: 10.392
30. Oncogene – Impact Factor: 9.867
31. Annual Review of Cancer Biology – Impact Factor: 9.391
32. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews – Impact Factor: 9.264
33. European Journal of Cancer – Impact Factor: 9.162
34. Cancer Letters – Impact Factor: 8.679
35. npj Precision Oncology – Impact Factor: 8.254
36. Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology – Impact Factor: 8.168
37. Oncoimmunology – Impact Factor: 8.110
38. Journal of Pathology – Impact Factor: 7.996
39. British Journal of Cancer – Impact Factor: 7.640
40. Oncogenesis – Impact Factor: 7.485
41. European Urology Oncology – Impact Factor: 7.479
42. International Journal of Cancer – Impact Factor: 7.396
43. Gastric Cancer – Impact Factor: 7.370
44. Molecular Therapy-oncolytics – Impact Factor: 7.200
45. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics – Impact Factor: 7.038
46. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy – Impact Factor: 6.968
47. npj Breast Cancer – Impact Factor: 6.923
48. Cancer – Impact Factor: 6.860
49. Cellular Oncology – Impact Factor: 6.730
50. Cancer Science – Impact Factor: 6.716

Interested in learning about the rankings of journals from other fields? Consider checking out our other journal rankings.

Read about the latest immunology research and immuno-biotech news from ImmunoFrontiers.