The past year has been another very successful year for Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of our key successes over the past year and discuss some exciting upcoming activities.

  1. 1

    Peer review time: In 2012, the average time from manuscript submission to first decision is 14 days, with 95% of reviews completed in 30 days or less and 99% in 40 days or less. This is compared with a mean of 21 days in 2010 with only 68% of manuscript having a decision in 30 days or less. This all was accomplished despite an increase in the number of submissions (see below). Thus, although turnaround times have improved dramatically, we will continue to work to our goal of 100% of reviews in 30 days or less.

  2. 2

    Time to publication: Average time to publication for 2011 was a very respectable 30 days with 81% of papers being published in less than 30 days after acceptance. It is important that we continue to keep this turn around as quick as possible because in today’s 24/7 world, authors expect and deserve to have their research published as rapidly as possible.

  3. 3

    High-quality papers: Our approach to increasing the number of high-quality papers has been to target high-profile abstracts at meetings and high-profile authors. This approach, along with overall increased awareness of the journal, has resulted in significant two improvements:

  4. 4

    Visibility: In 2011, we had 309 479 page views on our website—an average of 847 per day, 365 days per year. Along those lines, Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases is known throughout the globe, with nearly 75% of submissions coming from outside the United States and Canada. An impressive 27 articles published in 2011 received media coverage. In other words, one of every two papers published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases in 2011 received media attention.

  5. 5

    User friendly: I believe it is vital to have open contact between authors and myself. For all manuscripts rejected without review, I include comments on why the manuscript was not appropriate for our journal. Although this provides no ‘benefit’ to the journal, the authors have a fundamental right to know the key limitations of their work. Likewise, for many manuscripts, we have an open discussion with the authors before submission about whether the paper is appropriate for our journal and tips we can offer to improve the chances of a favorable review (though of course there are no guarantees). I firmly believe open communication with authors is critical such that papers ultimately accepted are the best possible papers and I look forward to more on-going discussions.

I am very pleased to announce that Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases and the Prostate Cancer Foundation have decided to explore partnership opportunities for 2012 and beyond. This year at the annual retreat of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, both myself and Anna Saar, Publishing Manager for Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, will jointly present a session entitled, ‘Becoming an Author in a Nature Publication and Other 21st Century Tips on Publication in the Digital Age.’ We believe this will be a great opportunity to educate younger authors about publishing, but also be a great forum to highlight Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. We are hopeful that presenting at such a high-level scientific meeting will enable us to showcase Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases and expand our current audience. We are hopeful that this will be the first of many partnerships between Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Moving forward, we will continue to solicit the best possible papers. We will continue to strive to return reviews within 30 days. We will continue to publish high-quality primary research and review articles. We will continue our policy of open communication between authors and the editors. I fully anticipate that with our turn-around time and visibility being on par or ahead of many other journals that submissions and especially high-quality submissions will only increase in the future.

In closing, the past year has been a very successful year for the journal. This is because of a dedicated team of editors, reviewers, and editorial staff along with you—the readers and hopefully future authors. However, similar to any successful adventure, we cannot rest on our laurels. Thus, I commit to you that I will continue doing my best to ensure that the brightest days for Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases lie ahead.