Instruction for Authors
Revised on April 20, 2017
1. AIMS & SCOPE
International Journal of Myeloma (IJM) is an international, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary publicationencompassing clinical, physiological, pathological, genetic/cytogenetic and medical research on plasma cell
dyscrasias, including multiple myeloma, plasma cell leukemia, plasmacytomas, amyloidosis, POEMS
syndrome, and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. The Journal welcomes originalcontributions dealing with all aspects of plasma cell dyscrasias, including clinical and fundamental studies.
The journal welcomes articles described by either English or Japanese language, while prefers English articles
for more world-wide activity.
2. PUBLICATIONS
Original Articles: Peer-reviewed, high-quality, concise research investigations that represent new andsignificant contributions to the understanding of pathophysiology, biology, treatment and clinical managementof plasma cell dyscrasias.
Review Articles: Reviews of major areas or sub-areas in plasma cell dyscrasias. IJM editorial office may
invite reviews on a specific topic.
Case Reports: Case reports for plasma cell dyscrasias are welcome and should describe new findings thathave a significant clinical impact on hematologists or that may alter the concept of a disease. Case reports
should be no more than 3,000 words in length.
Short Reports: Short reports which offer significant insight into scientific and clinical hematologicalprocesses may be published. Short reports could include important preliminary observations, short methods
papers, therapeutic advances, and any significant scientific or clinical observations which are best publishedin this format. Short reports should be no more than 1,500 words in length.
Letters to the Editor: Letters dealing with published articles or matters of interest to plasma cell dyscrasias
are invited. They should be short (not more than 1000 words), and include references where appropriate.
Where a published article is involved, the original author(s) will be invited to submit a response.
Announcements and Calendar: Providing notices of forthcoming meetings, courses, and other events
relevant to plasma cell dyscrasias and researchers. All such items will be listed in the journal issues preceding
the event and will be updated upon request.
3. SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
Authors should submit their manuscripts using the journal’s online submission system. Electronic submission
substantially reduces the editorial processing and reviewing time and shortens overall publication time. Please
go directly to the site (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijmm) and upload all files associated with themanuscript following the instructions given on the screen. Use the Help option to see the most recently updated
system requirements. All articles submitted to the Journal must comply with these instructions. Failure will
result in return of the manuscript and possible delay in publication.
In revision process, authors may be allowed to have three more months for revision, but the additional periods
may be also allowed in case the authors appropriately explain the reason for the delay.
For assistance, please contact the Editorial Office of IJM at the address below:
Editorial Office, International Journal of Myeloma
Department of Hematology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine
3-39-22 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, JAPAN
Phone: +81- 27-220-8166, FAX: +81-27-220-8173, E-mail: ijm@jsm.gr.jp
1Editor-in Chief
Chiaki Nakaseko, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Hematology, International University of Health and Welfare School of Medicine
4-3, Kozunomori, Narita, 286-8686, JAPAN4. COVERING LETTER
A covering letter should be attached and the following information should be included:• A declaration that the paper is being submitted for consideration for publication in IJM. The content has notbeen published or submitted for publication elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of ascientific meeting or symposium.
• All authors’ agreement: acknowledgment that all authors have contributed significantly, and that all authors
are in agreement with the content of the manuscript. In keeping with the latest guidelines of the International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors, each author's contribution to the paper is to be quantified.
• Contact details at which the corresponding author can be contacted, including mailing address, telephone andfax numbers, and an email address.
• If tables or figures have been reproduced from another source, a letter from the copyright holder (usually thePublisher), stating authorization to reproduce the material, must be attached to the covering letter.
• The salient and novel findings of the paper should be described in a concise paragraph.
• The names and addresses of at least three potential reviewers (including telephone and fax numbers and emailaddress). If there are compelling reasons for excluding particular individuals as potential reviewers, details canbe mentioned. However, the ultimate reviewer selection is at the Editors’ discretion.
5. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE (Conflict-of-Interest)
Authors should declare any financial support or relationship that may pose conflict of interest as Financial
Disclosure in the cover letter and in the article before acknowledgement.
6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Authors must state that the protocol for the research project has been approved by a suitably constituted Ethics
Committee of the institution within which the work was undertaken and that it conforms to the provisions ofthe Declaration of Helsinki in 2009. All investigations on human subjects must include a statement that thesubject gave informed consent. Patient anonymity should be preserved. Photographs need to be cropped
sufficiently to prevent human subjects being recognized (or an eye bar should be used). Any experiments
involving animals must be demonstrated to be ethically acceptable and where relevant conform to nationalguidelines for animal usage in research.
7. COPYRIGHT
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright. This transfer will ensure the widest
possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receiptof the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided after acceptance.
8. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Manuscripts should be organized in the following sequence: All manuscripts must have a title page which isPage 1 of your manuscript. Text should be double spaced with a wide margin using 12-point font. Papers
written in Japanese language must have English title and abstract as well as Japanese title and abstract.
Title Page – Note the Title should be clear and brief. Avoid non-specific phrases such as "A study of..." or"The effects of...". Do not give the title a numbered subtitle or series number. The title page is the first page ofthe paper and must contain: title, name of authors, institution, city and country and the Corresponding Author.
Shortened running title not more than 40 characteristics including spaces is also required. The corresponding
author is the one that submits the manuscript and is displayed on the Title Page of the manuscript. They havethe duty to ensure that all of the named authors have seen and approved the original manuscript and subsequentrevisions. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for thecontent. The corresponding author should also ensure that those who have contributed to the research areacknowledged appropriately either as a co-author or in the Acknowledgements. In addition, the corresponding
author has the prime responsibility for ensuring the paper is correctly prepared according to the Guide for2Authors. Submitted manuscripts not complying with the Guide for Authors may be returned to the authors.
Word Count – Original article and Review article do not exceed 5,000 words (excluding abstract, references,acknowledgement documents, figure legends and tables). Article type specifications for papers written in
English and Japanese are listed below:Article type specifications
Types ofpublications
EnglishOriginal article
Review article
Case report
Short report
Letters to the Editor
Japanese*
Original article
Review article
Case report
Short report
Letters to the Editor

Main document

Abstract inEnglish

Abstract inJapanese

Tables andFigures (Max)

References(Max)

5,000 words
5,000 words
3,000 words
1,500 words
1,000 words

200 words
200 words
200 words
150 words
Not required

-8853
250
100
30
15
10

8,000 characters
8,000 characters
4,000 characters2,400 characters
1,500 characters

200 words
200 words
200 words
150 words
Not required

400 characters
400 characters
400 characters
300 characters
Not required

8853250100301510*Articles written in Japanese must have English title and abstract as well as Japanese title and abstract.
Keywords – Keywords are index terms or descriptions for information retrieval systems. Three to five
keywords must be supplied after the summary.
Abbreviations and units - Avoid abbreviations in the Title and abbreviating single words. Otherwise explain
all abbreviations at first mention in the abstract and text. Standard SI abbreviations for units do not need to bespelled out.
Introduction – This should give the reasons for doing the work. As this is a specialist journal a detailed reviewof the literature is not necessary. The introduction should preferably conclude with a final paragraph stating
concisely and clearly the aims and objectives of the investigation.
Materials and Methods – A full technical description of a method should be given in detail only when themethod is new.
Results – This need only report results of representative experiments illustrated by tables and figures. Usewell-known statistical tests in preference to obscure ones.
Discussion – This section must not recapitulate results but should relate the authors' experiments to other workand give their conclusions.
References – Limited to up to 50 references for original articles. References are numbered in numerical order.
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript.
In the text refer to references by a number in square brackets on the line (e.g. [1]), and the full reference should
be given in a numerical list at the end of the paper. For references that have more than 7 authors, list the firstsix authors followed by et al. Samples of reference styles are given below:
Journal articles are cited as follows:
10. Kumar SK, Rajkumar SV, Dispenzieri A, Lacy MQ, Hayman SR, Buadi FK, et al. Improved survival in3

multiple myeloma and the impact of novel therapies. Blood 2008;111:2516-20.
Articles or chapters in books are cited as follows:
15. Sallan SE, Weinstein HJ. Childhood acute leukemia. In: Nathan DG, Oski FA, editors. Hematology ofInfancy and Childhood. Vol 2. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 1987. p1028-39.
Work accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press". References concerning
unpublished data, theses, and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may bementioned in the text.
Acknowledgements – Acknowledgements is a separate document. All sources of funding should be declared.
Authors should declare the role of study sponsors, if any, in the study design, collection, analysis andinterpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript forpublication.
Conflict of Interest – All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people ororganizations that could inappropriately influence their work. E.g. potential conflicts of interest include
employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patentapplications/registrations, and grants or other funding.
Figures and Tables
Do not exceed 8 figures and tables in total for ori. Figures should be cited consecutively in the text. Files withTIFF, JPEG, PDF or Power Point will be welcome. Because of technical complications which can arise byconverting color figures to "grey scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print) pleasesubmit in addition usable black and white prints corresponding to all the color illustrations. In case you submit
color figures, IJM will ensure at no additional charge all figures appear in color online. For color reproductionin print, you will receive information regarding the costs after receipt of your accepted article. Include
descriptive captions for each figure. Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Type tables on separate
pages with a title. Avoid white spaces in the table by using footnotes, and ensure all symbols or abbreviation
are explained. Tables are uploaded separately. Include descriptive captions at the top of each table. Footnotes
should only be used to provide addresses of authors or to provide explanations essential to the understandingof Tables.
Accepted Manuscript
Upon acceptance of your manuscript, authors will be asked to transfer copyright which will be sent from thejournal office via E-mail. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter
will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer ofcopyright will be provided.
Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by E-mail to the corresponding author. IJM now sends PDF
proofs which can be annotated. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. Pleaselist your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections andany other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, orscan the pages and e-mail, or by post.
9. Publication fees and color figure chargeSince IJM depends, in part, on the payment of page charges for publication, payment of JPY 20,000 or ＄200
per article is mandatory. Invited articles will not be asked for publication fees. As is the online journal, color
figures are not charged for our online publication.

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