Evaluating artificial intelligence policies in oncology journals: Assessing guidelines for use and authorship

Introduction/Objectives: Cancer impacts a significant number of individuals, with approximately 20 million cases reported in 2022, with nearly 10 million cancer-related deaths globally. Investing in cancer research therefore carries immense value, with the goal of better preventing, diagnosing, and effectively treating cases of various types of cancer. Given the novelty of AI in research, it is important to understand its effects on scientific research. Journal policies on the use of AI in publishing research remain ambiguous due to the absence of universal guidelines for its implementation. To our knowledge, no studies have investigated journal guidelines on AI within oncology research. Therefore, our study aimed to assess how AI is addressed in policy and reporting guidelines within the field of oncology. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate how AI is addressed in policy and reporting guidelines within the top 100 oncology journals. The secondary outcome focused on reviewing and summarizing the policies across these journals regarding the use of AI-generated content, including text, images, and writing, as well as the acceptance or prohibition of AI authorship.