Author Instructions

1. Article Types

  • Original Research Articles – Up to 7,500 words, excluding abstract and references; structured abstract of up to 300 words; up to 8 tables and figures combined.
  • Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses – Up to 8,000 words; structured abstract of up to 300 words; registration details and a completed PRISMA checklist should be provided.
  • Narrative Review Articles – Up to 8,000 words; abstract of up to 300 words; normally up to 100 references.
  • Clinical Studies and Clinical Trials – Up to 7,500 words; structured abstract; trial registration number and completed CONSORT checklist required where applicable.
  • Case Reports – Up to 2,500 words; unstructured abstract of up to 200 words; normally up to 20 references and 5 tables or figures. Authors should follow the CARE reporting guidelines.
  • Case Series – Up to 3,500 words; abstract of up to 250 words; normally up to 30 references.
  • Short Communications – Up to 2,000 words; abstract of up to 200 words; maximum of 3 tables or figures.
  • Methodology and Protocol Articles – Up to 5,000 words; study registration and relevant reporting checklist required where applicable.
  • Perspectives and Commentaries – Up to 1,500 words; normally up to 20 references.
  • Editorials – Up to 1,500 words; generally invited, although unsolicited submissions may be considered.
  • Letters to the Editor – Up to 1,000 words; maximum of 10 references and 1 table or figure.
  • Conference and Meeting Reports – Up to 1,500 words.
  • Book Reviews – Up to 1,500 words.

2. Manuscript Preparation

  • Language: Manuscripts must be written in clear, grammatically correct English. Authors who are not fluent in English are encouraged to obtain professional language-editing support before submission.
  • File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) files are preferred. LaTeX files may be accepted when accompanied by all source files and a compiled PDF.
  • Page Layout: Use A4 page size, 2.5 cm margins, Times New Roman 12-point font, and 1.5-line spacing.
  • Page Numbering: All pages should be numbered consecutively.
  • Line Numbering: Continuous line numbering should be included throughout the manuscript to assist peer review.
  • Abbreviations: Define abbreviations at first use and avoid unnecessary or non-standard abbreviations.
  • Units: Use the International System of Units (SI units) wherever applicable.

Manuscript Structure: The manuscript should generally include a separate title page, abstract, keywords, main text, acknowledgments, declarations, references, tables, figure legends, and supplementary material where applicable.

Original Research Structure: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Declarations, and References.

3. Title Page

The title page must be uploaded separately and should contain:

  • Complete manuscript title
  • Short running title
  • Full names of all authors
  • Institutional affiliations of all authors
  • ORCID identifiers, where available
  • Name, postal address, email address, and telephone number of the corresponding author
  • Total word count
  • Number of tables, figures, and supplementary files
  • Funding information
  • Conflict-of-interest statement

4. Abstract and Keywords

Original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical studies should include a structured abstract of up to 300 words using appropriate headings such as Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Case reports, narrative reviews, and commentaries may include an unstructured abstract where appropriate.

Authors should provide 4–6 keywords below the abstract. Wherever possible, keywords should be selected from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

5. Figures and Tables

Figures: Figures should be submitted in TIFF, JPEG, PNG, or high-quality PDF format. Photographic images should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, while line drawings should have a minimum resolution of 600 dpi. Each figure must be numbered consecutively and cited in the text.

Figure Legends: Legends should be provided at the end of the manuscript and should explain all symbols, abbreviations, arrows, scale bars, and staining methods used.

Tables: Tables should be created using the table function in Microsoft Word and should not be submitted as images. Each table must have a concise title and should be numbered consecutively in the order of citation. All abbreviations should be explained in footnotes.

Figures and tables should be embedded at appropriate positions in the manuscript for review and also uploaded as separate files where requested by the submission system.

6. References

References must follow the Vancouver style and should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they first appear in the text. References should be cited using Arabic numerals in square brackets.

  • Authors should verify the accuracy and completeness of every reference.
  • Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the National Library of Medicine journal abbreviations.
  • Include the DOI wherever available.
  • Unpublished data and personal communications should not ordinarily appear in the reference list.
  • Preprints may be cited when clearly identified as preprints.
  • Excessive or inappropriate self-citation should be avoided.
  • Original research articles should generally include at least 25 relevant references.
  • Review articles should normally include at least 50 relevant references.

7. Statistical Reporting

  • Statistical methods must be described in sufficient detail to allow verification of the results.
  • The statistical software and version used must be specified.
  • Normally distributed data should generally be reported as mean with standard deviation or confidence interval.
  • Non-normally distributed data should generally be reported as median with interquartile range.
  • Exact p-values should be reported wherever possible.
  • Effect sizes and confidence intervals should accompany significance tests where appropriate.
  • Clinical significance should be discussed alongside statistical significance.
  • Sample-size calculations and power analyses should be reported when relevant.

8. Reporting Guidelines

Authors must follow the appropriate reporting guideline for their study design and upload the completed checklist where applicable.

  • Randomized controlled trials: CONSORT
  • Observational studies: STROBE
  • Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA
  • Diagnostic accuracy studies: STARD
  • Case reports: CARE
  • Clinical practice guidelines: AGREE II
  • Animal studies: ARRIVE
  • Qualitative research: COREQ or SRQR
  • Study protocols: SPIRIT or PRISMA-P, where applicable

9. Ethical Responsibilities

  • Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal.
  • Studies involving human participants must have prior approval from an institutional ethics committee or review board.
  • Written informed consent must be obtained from participants where required.
  • Studies involving animals must comply with relevant institutional and national animal-welfare guidelines.
  • Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible trial registry before participant enrolment, where required.
  • Authors must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively omit research data.
  • Digital images must not be manipulated in a manner that alters or misrepresents the scientific information.
  • All financial and non-financial conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
  • Authorship must be based on substantial scholarly contribution and must comply with ICMJE authorship criteria.
  • The journal follows COPE guidance for allegations of misconduct, corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.

10. Plagiarism and Textual Overlap

All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts containing substantial unattributed overlap, duplicate publication, inappropriate paraphrasing, or copied material may be returned, rejected, or investigated in accordance with COPE guidance. A similarity score exceeding 15%, excluding references and unavoidable technical terminology, may require revision or editorial assessment. Editorial decisions will be based on the nature and source of the overlap rather than the numerical similarity score alone.

11. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models

Artificial intelligence tools and large language models may be used to assist with language improvement, readability, or limited technical support. Such tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the work, approve the final manuscript, or manage conflicts of interest.

Authors must disclose the name of the tool, its version where available, and the purpose for which it was used. The disclosure should be included in the acknowledgments or a separate AI-use statement. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citations, confidentiality, and integrity of all submitted content.

12. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors should include a data-availability statement describing whether the data supporting the findings are publicly available, available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to ethical or legal restrictions, or unavailable. Where possible, datasets, protocols, statistical code, and supplementary materials should be deposited in a recognised repository.

13. Peer-Review Process

The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process. Manuscripts passing the initial editorial assessment are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject experts. Editorial decisions may include:

  • Accept
  • Minor Revision
  • Major Revision
  • Reject and Resubmit
  • Reject

The journal aims to complete the initial peer-review process within approximately 4–6 weeks; however, timelines may vary depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, and the number of revision rounds.

14. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright in their published work. Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal and publisher the non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, preserve, and identify themselves as the original publisher of the article.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated. This licence permits sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source.

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce copyrighted figures, tables, questionnaires, scales, photographs, or other third-party material.

15. Open-Access Policy

The Journal of Cachexia, Nutritional Medicine and Cellular Metabolism (JCNMCM) is an open-access journal. All published articles are made freely and permanently available online without subscription or access barriers. Readers may access, download, share, and use published content in accordance with the applicable Creative Commons licence.

Article Processing Charges may apply in accordance with the journal’s current APC and waiver policy. Payment of an APC has no influence on editorial assessment, peer review, or publication decisions.

16. Required Declarations

The following declarations must be included after the main text and before the references:

  • Ethics approval and consent to participate
  • Consent for publication
  • Availability of data and materials
  • Competing interests or conflict-of-interest declaration
  • Funding statement
  • Author contributions using the CRediT taxonomy
  • Acknowledgments
  • Clinical-trial registration details, where applicable
  • Artificial intelligence or LLM-use disclosure, where applicable

Where a declaration is not applicable, authors should state “Not applicable.”

17. Submission Checklist

  • The manuscript is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
  • The manuscript has been prepared according to the journal’s formatting requirements.
  • The main manuscript file is fully anonymised.
  • A separate title page containing complete author information has been uploaded.
  • The abstract does not exceed the prescribed word limit.
  • Four to six keywords have been provided.
  • All tables and figures are numbered, cited in the text, and accompanied by titles or legends.
  • High-resolution figure files have been uploaded separately where required.
  • References are formatted consistently in Vancouver style.
  • DOIs have been included for references wherever available.
  • Ethics approval, consent, funding, conflict-of-interest, data-availability, and author-contribution statements have been included.
  • The relevant reporting checklist has been completed and uploaded.
  • Written permission has been obtained for all reused copyrighted material.
  • Patient-identifying information has been removed or appropriate consent for publication has been obtained.
  • Any use of AI or LLM tools has been disclosed.

18. Submission Procedure

All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal’s online submission portal. Submissions sent directly by email will not ordinarily be considered unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

To preserve double-blind peer review, the main manuscript file must be anonymised and must not include author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, institutional identifiers, or other information that may reveal the authors’ identities.

A separate title page containing the manuscript title, author names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers, corresponding-author details, funding information, conflicts of interest, and acknowledgments must be uploaded as an individual file.