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Author Guidelines

How to submit your paper online: Registered authors must login to submit a paper Visit www.sajgo.co.za Register on the website as an author and log in. Click on LOG IN and log in with username and password if already registered If you have forgotten your password click on �Forgot your password?� If you are not registered, click on �Not a user? Register with this site.� Select Author. Click on CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE FIVE STEPS TO SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT. Follow the five steps to submit your paper. Please submit a cover letter as a supplementary file with the following: Surnames, initials and qualifications of all authors in the correct sequence Full contact details of corresponding author: Title, first name, surname, e-mail address, mobile, office and fax number and postal address. Declaration on copyright and originality of paper and acknowledgement of any third party sources (references and images) exempting the author(s), journal and publisher of plagiarism. Declaration regarding authorship Ethics committee approval Conflicts of interest Review policy and timelines Immediate notification if submitted successfully Notification within 3 weeks if not accepted for further review Notification within 3 months if accepted for publication, if revisions are required or if rejected by both reviewers. Publication within 6 months after submission.

The Journal aims to be the prime journal on women�s cancer for local health care workers and gynaecologists, focusing on all aspects of cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment. The SAJGO is also a specialist journal catering for sub-specialist gynaecologic oncologists, for other specialists with a specific interest in breast and gynaecologic cancer, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, geneticists, specialised nurses and research scientists.

The Journal includes all aspects of female cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment and aims to serve a broad readership. As such it should be of interest to the clinical, scientific and academic community, policy makers, government and non-government stakeholders and industry.

Cancer control programmes include primary and secondary prevention, early detection and effective treatment. These aspects form part of public health, general and specialist services and together form the important priorities of the journal.

HIV and AIDS remain problematic in the region with a severe impact on gynaecologic oncology. Papers focusing on gynaecological malignancies in HIV infected women will be prioritised. Research in this field needs to be encouraged.

The Journal encourages articles from all investigators in the fields of gynaecological and breast cancer. In particular young researchers and researchers from historically disadvantaged backgrounds will be encouraged and supported to submit their research work for publication.

Contributions from all African countries are especially welcomed. Manuscripts describing research performed at Southern African institutions and in African or developing settings will enjoy priority.

Article sections and length

The following contributions are accepted (word counts exclude abstracts, tables and references): Original articles describe original investigations at an acceptable degree of completion, constituting an advance in the field. The body of the article must not exceed 3500 words of text. The abstract must either be structured and comprising no more than 250 words, or unstructured with a 200 word limit. Articles are limited to a maximum of 7 insets (tables and figures combined) and 50 references. Review articles that are of high quality and of relevance to the field will be published. Manuscripts of Reviews will be peer reviewed and should not exceed 2500 words and 25 references. Reviews will often be invited and unsolicited reviews are also considered. Brief Reports and Case Reports present complete studies that are narrower in scope than those described in Original articles. These Reports include a highly focused abstract and are limited to a total of no more than 1500 words of text, a total of 4 inserts (tables or figures), and 15 references. Preferably include "Brief Report" or �Case Report� in the title. Pathologist�s, Radiologist�s and Surgeon�s Corners intend to describe a specific issue, finding or technique that is new, of special interest or modified. This section is limited to 1000 words and up to 5 references and will be peer reviewed. Correspondence (Letters to the Editor) should be short and concise, commenting on a recently published article in the Journal or a controversial or topical issue of concern to the readership. Please prepare the letter in manuscript format, including a title page. The letter must not exceed 500 words, 3 authors, 1 insert (table or figure) and 5 references. A statement of potential sources of conflict of interest must accompany the letter. Editorials and Commentaries are generally invited by the Editor and are overviews of articles of other research or of issues of special interest to the subspeciality. Unsolicited commentaries are also considered. Please see the journal�s section policies section policies for further details.

Document requirements

Please include the following documents with your submission:

• Cover letter stating that the manuscript has not been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere and that it is the original work contributed to and approved by all the author(s).
• Conflict of interest and funding statements.
• Manuscript which should contain a title page, abstract, text and references. It may also contain tables and figures, acknowledgements and a foot note page.

Manuscript requirements
Title page
On the title page, please supply a running head of not more than 40 characters and spaces, a title of not more than 160 characters and spaces, the names and affiliations of all the authors in the correct sequence and word counts of the abstract and text. Each author�s first name, subsequent initials and surname must be used. Also supply the contact details of corresponding author.

Authorship
Authorship should be based only on a substantial contribution to conception, analysis and interpretation of data; writing the article or revising it critically and final written approval of the version to be published. The Journal uses the Uniform Requirements of Authorship for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals as published online at www.icmje.org/index.html and all three of these conditions must be met.

Abstract
The abstract may be structured with the headings Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions (250-word limit) or unstructured (200-word limit). Abstracts of Brief Reports should be no more than 100 words. The abstract must state the purpose of the research, the methods, results and conclusions. Include up to 10 key words, separate from the abstract.

Text
Please refer to the manuscript categories for the prescribed length of the text. The Editor reserves the right to shorten and stylise any material accepted for publication. Authors are solely responsible for the factual accuracy of their work.

The manuscript must be in English, should be in MS Word and follow the Vancouver style. Abbreviations and acronyms should be defined on first use. Pages should be numbered consecutively preferably with sections for introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements followed by references.

Ethical considerations
The Methods section must include a statement that informed consent was obtained from patients, parents or guardians when appropriate. It should also state that the human experimentation guidelines of the National Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za) or the South African Medical Research Council (MRC; http://www.sahealthinfo.org/ethics/index.htm) and/or those of the authors� institution(s) were followed in the conduct of clinical research or that animal experimentation guidelines (see MRC website above) were followed in animal studies. Non-South African studies should contain similar declarations relating to local guidelines where appropriate. The trial number of the approving body (bodies) should be stated when relevant.

Tables and Figures
Refer to the manuscript categories for prescribed number of tables and figures. Written permission from the author or copyright holder must be submitted for reprint of previously published figures or tables. Figures should be saved as high resolution (300 dpi) jpeg files. Tables should be constructed in MS Word. Graphs can be copied from MS Excel and pasted in the document. For large, intricate graphs, the coordinates and graphs must be provided as separate MS Excel files and uploaded as supplementary files.

Tables and figures can be in the text at the relevant place. Large tables (landscape A4) and photographic images are best saved as separate supplementary files. Please number them appropriately.

Figures and photographs should be of high quality with symbols, letters or numbers clear enough and large enough to remain legible after reduction. Remove all markings, such as patient identification, from radiographs before photographing. Each figure must have a separate self-explanatory legend.

Footnotes
Examples of information that can be submitted as a footnote to the manuscript include:

• Statement that authors either have or have not a potential conflict of interest.
• Statement naming sources of financial support.
• Information of previous presentation of part or all of the data.
• Current affiliations and addresses for authors whose affiliations have changed since completion of the study.
• Acknowledgements of financial support received or substantial contributions to the research or preparation of the manuscript made by persons other than the authors.

References
References should be cited in numerical order in the text, in superscript format (Format> Font> Click superscript) AFTER the full stops. (Not in brackets or as footnotes.)

References must be typed double-spaced and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are cited, not alphabetically.

The style for references should follow the format set forth in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org) prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Abbreviations for journal titles should follow Index Medicus format.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all references. Personal communications and unpublished data should only be referenced in the text.

List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first six, then "et al." When citing URLs to web documents, place in the reference list, and use the following format: Authors of document (if available). Title of document (if available). URL. (Accessed [date]).

Electronic submissions by post:
SAJGO, PO Box 14804, Lyttelton, 0157, Gauteng, South Africa
Please request an indemnity form +27 (0)12 664 7460 or toc@sajgo.co.za

Correspondence to the Editor-in-Chief:
Prof Greta Dreyer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Pretoria
E-mail: gretadreyer@mweb.co.za or greta.dreyer@up.ac.za
Postal address: PO Box 667, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0001

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Tips on how to prepare your manuscript

1. Please consult the �Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals� at www.icmje.org
2. The submission must be in UK English, typed in Microsoft Word or RTF with no double spaces after the full stops, double paragraph spacing, font size 12 and font type Times New Roman.
3. All author details (Full names, qualifications and affiliation) must be provided.
4. he full contact details of corresponding author (tel, fax, e-mail, postal address) must be on the manuscript.
5. There must be an abstract and keywords.
6. References must be strictly in Vancouver format. (Reference numbers in the text must be strictly numerical and be typed in superscript, not in brackets and must be placed AFTER the full stop or comma.)
7. Please consult the guide on Vancouver referencing methods at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
8. It must be clear where every figure and table should be placed in the text. If possible, tables and figures must be placed in the text where appropriate. If too large or impractical, they may be featured at the end of the manuscript or uploaded as separate supplementary files.
9. All photographs must be at 300 dpi and clearly marked according to the figure numbers in the text. (Figure 1, Table II, etc.)
10. Scientific measurements: These should be expressed in SI units except: blood pressure should be given in mmHg and haemoglobin values in g/dl. If in doubt, refer to 'uniform requirements' above.
11. All numbers below ten, without percentages or units, must be written in words.
12. Figure numbers: Arabic numbering
13. Table numbers: Roman numbering
14. Abbreviations: These should be spelt out when first used in the text and thereafter used consistently.
15. The submission must be reviewed by a language expert proficient in UK English.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. This manuscript has currently only been submitted to SAJGO and has not been published previously.
2. This work is original and all third party contributions (images, ideas and results) have been duly attributed to the originator(s).
3. Permission to publish licensed material (tables, figures, graphs) has been obtained and the letter of approval and proof of payment for royalties have been submitted as supplementary files.
4. The submitting/corresponding author is duly authorised to herewith assign copyright to the SAJGO.
5. All co-authors have made significant contributions to the manuscript to qualify as co-authors.
6. Ethics committee approval has been obtained for original studies and is clearly stated in the methodology.
7. A conflict of interest statement has been included where appropriate.
8. The submission adheres to the instructions to authors in terms of all technical aspects of the manuscript.

Copyright Notice

By submitting manuscripts to SAJGO, authors of original articles are assigning copyright to the South African Society of Gynaecologic Oncology (SASGO). Authors may use their own work after publication without written permission, provided they acknowledge the original source. Individuals and academic institutions may freely copy and distribute articles published in SAJGO for educational and research purposes without obtaining permission.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.