Introduction to the inaugural issue of Annals of Lymphoma

“I can resist anything, except temptation.”—Oscar Wilde

(“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.”—Oscar Wilde)

In this case, the temptation was, once again, to start from air and build a successful journal. I have had considerable experience with such adventures in the past and thought my editing days were over. Thus, when I was approached by Helen Seliman from AME Publishing Company, I was initially reticent to accept the offer. I would be facing the particularly daunting challenge of invading the world of the myriad predatory journals and attempt to emerge with a truly high caliber, peer-reviewed scientific publication. You are now reading the inaugural edition of Annals of Lymphoma (AOL). Our goal is to produce a journal dedicated to the dissemination of high quality translational and clinical papers that will educate the scientific community and move the field forward to the betterment of patient outcome.

The initial step in the process was to recruit an international editorial board that rivals any in the field, who will guide the development of the publication, and keep me on the right path. I personally selected not only friends and colleagues, but individuals who have already made their own mark on the field. Our reviewers will also be drawn not only from the Editorial Board, but also from carefully selected experts.

The first few issues will include cutting-edge reviews of topics of critical importance, focusing on specific lymphoma histologies as well as novel approaches to treatment and response assessment. However, the eventual goal is to attract submissions of original research on the science and clinical approach to lymphoma patients.

As improving the outcome of patients is a most laudable goal to which we have devoted our lives, AOL has formed a unique alliance with the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), the largest non-profit in the United States dedicated to research, education and advocacy as they relate to lymphoma patients. Additional information regarding this relationship can be found in an accompanying letter jointly written by myself and Megan Gutierrez, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LRF. In the future, will be publishing announcements for grant submissions, as well as results of LRF-sponsored research and other activities.

I hope that once you have read the initial issue of AOL, you will recognize the promise of a journal dedicated to lymphoma and will not only continue reading subsequent issues, but will consider submitting a review or results of your research so that the journal will flourish.

Thank you to those who did not delete this e-mail before even reading it. You will hopefully be the more informed for it.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Lymphoma for the series “Inaugural Issue”. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/aol.2017.08.01). The series “Inaugural Issue” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. BDC served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Lymphoma. The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.