Author Guidelines

Haematologica is the main tool through which the Ferrata-Storti Foundation, a non-profit organization, promotes the dissemination of new knowledge in the field of hematology. A high quality of articles, immediate free access to everything published and the lowest possible cost for authors are the principles that inspire Haematologica's management.

Haematologica considers for publication manuscripts on malignant and non-malignant hematologic diseases, including hemostasis defects. The subject area of clinical manuscripts can range from etiology to diagnostics, prognosis, prevention, and treatment. Clinical studies on drugs that modify the hemostatic process for antihemorrhagic or antithrombotic purposes fall within the field of interest of Haematologica. Basic studies on hematopoiesis, blood cells, hemostasis and blood banking that have the potential for clinical relevance are also considered for publication.

Haematologica does not publish the results of studies that have already been published, even partially, or are going to be published in any form, except for meeting abstracts and manuscripts released as a preprint before or during submission.

Preprints are allowed under these conditions:

• Once published in Haematologica, the author is responsible for ensuring that the preprint record is updated with a publication reference, including the DOI and a URL link to the published version of the article on the Haematologica website.
• The preprint must not be modified while the manuscript is under evaluation and cannot be updated if the manuscript is accepted for publication in Haematologica.
• Preprints, as well as any related public comments, will be considered in the evaluation of the manuscript submitted to Haematologica.
• The existence of a preprint must be explicitly stated in the submission form and in the cover letter for the submission.

Haematologica does not consider for publication papers not reporting primary data (such as editorials, review articles, perspective articles, guidelines, position papers and similar articles) that pharmaceutical or medical device company employees and/or medical writers supported by a pharmaceutical or medical device company have had any role in drafting.

Original articles. There is no limit to the number of authors, but this must be commensurate with the complexity of the study. The manuscript should be divided into sections under the following subheadings: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References.

• Abstract (unstructured), maximum 250 words. Articles reporting clinical trials should provide the trial registration number at the end of the abstract. Use abbreviations only for terms that occur at least twice. In this case, explain their meaning when they are first used.
• Main text (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion), maximum 4,000 words. The Methods and Results sections can be divided with specific subtitles. The Methods section (maximum 500 words) should include the most important methods that allow readers to understand the article content. When required, further information on methodology can be provided in the Supplementary data.
• References, maximum 50.
• Figure and Tables, maximum 8 items in total. Additional figures and tables can be published as Supplementary data.

Original articles reporting randomized trials must follow CONSORT recommendations, meta-analyses and guidelines EHA recommendations, observational studies STROBE recommendations, and studies of diagnostic accuracy STARD guidelines.

Review articles. As a rule, Reviews are by invitation. However, authoritative researchers can submit reviews on topics for which they have demonstrated competence. The maximum number of authors is usually limited to three. Review articles are a maximum 5,000 words long (excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and references) and do not have a specific structure. The reviews should contain an unstructured abstract of a maximum of 250 words (abbreviations only for terms that occur at least twice), and have a maximum of 100 references. Authors are encouraged to describe the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data; this is mandatory for systematic reviews (see PRISMA guidelines). The use of tables and figures is strongly encouraged (no limit to their number). When deemed appropriate by the publisher, a graphic artist will redesign submitted figures.

Spotlight Review articles. These brief reviews are by invitation only and are intended to discuss recent advances that have transformed or will transform the hematology field. They are a maximum 3,000 words long (excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and references), have an unstructured abstract of a maximum of 250 words, and a maximum of 40 references. The use of figures summarizing the topics discussed is very welcome.

Perspective articles. The format and editorial guidelines for this type of article are the same as for Reviews article. The perspective articles differ from Reviews articles because they do not require a systematic and exhaustive analysis of the literature, but allow authors to use literature data to freely express their personal opinion on topics and controversies relevant to hematology.

Editorials. Editorials that comment on Haematologica articles are by invitation and are published in the same issue as the commented paper. However, submission of Editorials by authoritative researchers on debated topics or important news is welcome.
Editorials have a free structure (no abstract), contain about 1,500 words (excluding tables and references), up to 20 references and may contain two display items (figures and/or tables). No more than two authors are permitted. The use of a figure is strongly encouraged. When deemed appropriate by the publisher, a graphic artist will redesign the submitted figure.

Guideline articles. These should be produced by an international group of experts. These articles are up to 5,000 words long (excluding tables, figure legends and references), and the authors are free to give the text the structure that best suits their purposes. The articles should contain an unstructured abstract of maximum 250 words, can include all the figures and tables that the authors deem necessary, and have a maximum 100 references. We recommend following the PRISMA recommendations for this type of article.

Letters to the Editor. This type of article is dedicated to the publication of original data that can be reported and discussed in no more than 1,500 text words (excluding tables, figure legends and references). Letters have no abstract, no headings, a maximum of three tables and/or figures, and no more than 15 references. Letters should start with a paragraph summarizing the rationale for the study and the major conclusions. When appropriate, the reporting recommendations detailed for Original articles should be followed. Letters can be accompanied by three additional figures/tables/videos (three items overall) in an online supplementary. The use of text in online Supplementary data is not foreseen except for the legends of the figures and the titles of the tables (no Methods).

Case reports & Case series. Reports of special cases that contribute to a better understanding of hematologic diseases or to patients' care will be considered for publication. These reports need to be conclusive and must include insights into pathogenesis in addition to the description of the clinical case(s). Only a few Case reports can be published and a strict selection is in place. Case reports have no abstract, no headings, and a maximum of 1,500 words in the text (excluding tables, figure legends and references), a maximum of three tables and/or figures, and 15 references. Supplementary data cannot be used.

Comments. This format is used to discuss a recently published article in Haematologica, or cutting edge ideas or developments in the broad field of hematology. Papers containing new data cannot be published with this format. Comments have no abstract, a maximum of 1,000 words in the text and 10 essential references. Comments should not include figures or tables. Please start the comment with a paragraph summarizing the rationale for the comment, citing the article or articles that form the basis for the comment. No more than two authors are allowed.

We are very flexible on the format of the first submission and the rules described in the following sections do not necessarily all have to be respected.

At initial submission, only two PDF files will be requested:

• One pdf file with the text, tables, and figures (please, make sure the file size is below 5 MB)
• One PDF file with all supplementary data

A revised manuscript must comply with all the editorial rules. The following files will be requested:

• One Word document with text and tables (indicate in color the changes that were made compared to the first submission)
• One high quality file for each figure
• One pdf file with all supplementary data
• In case of changes in the authorship, please fill in this form and submit it as supplementary file: Change of Authorship Form

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals(ICMJE Recommendations).

Manuscripts should be prepared using American English spelling. Scientific nomenclature should be used without the Saxon Genitive (for example: use 'Hodgkin Lymphoma' and not 'Hodgkin's Lymphoma').

Abbreviations and acronyms can be used when a term that includes multiple words is used more than once in the Abstract and more than three times in the Main text. The Abstract, Main Text and Figure legends should be considered as separate entities and abbreviations must be explained in full in each of these parts of the manuscript. Abbreviations and acronyms used in tables must be explained in a note below the table. Abbreviations should not be used in the title unless the abbreviation is better understood than the full designation, such as for DNA, which is more easily understood than Deoxyribonucleic acid. If this is the case, explain the abbreviation in the Abstract. Abbreviations should not be written in the plural form.

Units and measurements. Use the SI system of units. Authors who fail to use the SI system in the figures will be asked to redo the figures.

Drugs. Commercial names of drugs should be avoided. Drugs should be referred to by their generic names unless different proprietary versions are being discussed.

Genes and proteins. Use the official gene symbols when referring to genes, transcripts and proteins. (for example: Use ABL1, not ABL or c-ABL; use MYC, not c-Myc). Use this database as a reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene. Human Genes: the names should be indicated in italics and capitals, Human Proteins: the names should be in capital letters. Mouse and Rat Genes: the names should be indicated in italics, with only the first letter in capital and the remaining letters in lowercase (Shh). Mouse and Rat Proteins: the names should be indicated only in capital letters (SHH). Zebrafish and Frog (xenopus sp.) Genes: the names should be indicated in italics and all in lowercase (shh). Zebrafish and Frog (xenopus sp.) Proteins: the names must have the first letter in capital and the remaining letters in lowercase.

Protection of human individuals in research. When reporting studies (prospective or retrospective) involving people, medical records, and human tissues, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2013. Authors should also declare that any research involving people, medical records, and human tissues was approved by the relevant institutional review boards or ethics committees and that all human participants gave written informed consent (Haematologica reserves the right to ask the authors or the institution they indicated for a copy of the document). Patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated. Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published. Photographs and any data that can lead to patient identification can be published only if this is essential for scientific purposes and the subject has signed a specific written informed consent.

Protection of animals in research. When performing experiments on animals or animal tissues, authors should seek approval from an institutional ethics committee and should strictly follow the institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. Haematologica only considers manuscripts reporting on studies on animals or animal tissues if ethical committee approval of the study can be documented.

Clinical trials. We request, as a condition for publication, the registration of all clinical trials in a public trials registry. The ICMJE provides specific guidelines on this topic. The ICMJE defines a clinical trials as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or concurrent comparison or control groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Medical interventions include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, process-of-care changes, and the like. Haematologica does not advocate one particular registry, but follows the ICMJE recommendations. Because it is critical that trial registries are independent of for-profit interests, the ICMJE policy requires registration in a WHO primary registry rather than solely in an associate registry, since for-profit entities manage some associate registries.

At submission of the manuscript, authors must disclose whether they used Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies. If so, both the cover letter and the submitted paper should include a description of the technologies used and for what purposes they were employed.

Manuscripts must have the following sequence of items:

• Title page
• Abstract
• Main text
• References
• Tables
• Figure legends
• Figures

Information provided on the title page should correspond exactly with the information provided in the online system for submission.

Title. Whenever possible, the title should consist of a sentence describing the main finding of the study. For example, “Aspirin inhibits platelet function” should be preferred over “Effect of aspirin on platelet function.” In any case, question forms should be avoided. Capitalize the first letter of the sentence only, and try not to use abbreviations. In the event that abbreviations are used because they are very easily understood, they must be spelled out in the abstract. Abbreviation of study group names may be presented in the title if they are expanded in the abstract. All members’ names should be listed in an appendix and presented at the end of the main text. In this case, include a title page note that refers to that appendix.

Authors. Names of authors should be presented as full first name, initial of middle name (if applicable) and last name. Number authors’ affiliation in superscript. Do not include professional titles or abbreviations of qualifications or positions held.
Haematologica does not limit the number of authors of original articles, letters, guidelines and case reports. However, it must be proportionate to the complexity of the data presented, and the editor will ask for a reduction of the number of authors if the list does not seem justified. See above Types of articles for the maximum number of authors for the other types of articles.

Authors' contributions. If more than one author contributed equally to the work as 'principal investigator' (first name) or 'senior' author (last name), a statement of equal contribution can be placed here. Use authors’ initials rather than full names, e.g. 'GGH and FS contributed equally as co-first authors'. In the list of authors, use an asterix (^*) before the name of authors to indicate sharing the position of first author, a hash (^#) for last position. An high number of authors contributing equally is discouraged. If 'equal contribution' as a principal investigator is attributed to more than three authors and 'senior author' to more than two people, please explain the reason for this anomaly in the accompanying letter. In the rare cases in which all authors contributed equally, their names must appear in alphabetical order.
Information on contributions to the manuscript of each author should be provided during the online submission.

Affiliations. The authors’ affiliations should be provided on a new line immediately after the authors’ names with every affiliation on a new line. Provide only city, state (abbreviated for USA affiliations) and country. Do not give full address. Provide the postal code only in case it is required for the identification of the institution.

Running heads. Please provide a short title as running head wirh a maximum 50 characters. The use of acronyms and abbreviations is permitted.

Corresponding author. Indicate the name and email address of the author who is in charge of managing the correspondence.

Data-sharing statement. It is strongly recommended that authors make their original data and protocols available to other investigators without unreasonable restrictions. Authors should therefore indicate if and how these data can be obtained. This information will appear at the end of the manuscript.

Word count. Provide a separate word count for the abstract and the main text (= introduction + methods + results + discussion). Indicate how many tables and figures are present in the manuscript. Indicate how many supplementary files are associated with the manuscript (we request one PDF file for all supplementary data; only in specific circumstances, such as submission of movies or Excel tables, do we accept more than one PDF file).

Trial registration. Confirmation and details of trial registration should be given on the first page; please use the following form: 'ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00123456'

Acknowledgments. If applicable, indicate secretarial and editorial assistance, technical and intellectual input and advice, etc.

Funding. For all types of financing (e.g., governmental, industrial, personal) it is recommended to report the identifiers and indicate which authors were the beneficiaries. For example, This investigation was supported by grant DKxxxx to AB from the National Institutes of Health, USA.

A summary (unstructured) of 250 words is required only for Original articles, Reviews, Perspectives, and Guidelines. Do not include references. See Manuscript style for abbreviations and acronyms.

See above Types of articles for word limits and Manuscript style for other editorial requirements.

Subheadings. In the types of articles that require structuring of the main text into different sections, we discourage the use of more than one level of subheadings within each section. The style of the different subheadings levels must be consistent.

Authors must take great care over the accuracy of citations in the text and corresponding references. Accuracy is very important because references will be linked to Medline and other online databases, and these links do not work if citation information is not completely accurate.

Every citation needs a reference, and every reference must correspond to a citation. Authors must take care that this also occurs in revised papers, in which references are often moved, added or deleted.

If you use citation software, please check carefully to ensure that it formats references according to the rules for Haematologica. You can download the reference style to be used by Endnote

11.1. Citations of bibliographic references must be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear the first time in the text. Figures and tables do not have an independent numbering sequence but follow the logic of the reading sequence. So, the numbering of references appearing for the first time in tables and figures depends on where the diction Figure x or Table y is used for the first time in the main text.

In the text, cite references by inserting the superscripted reference number:

• Melick⁵ reported IDH1 mutations in AML.
• Melick and Brown⁵ reported IDH1 mutations in AML.
• Melick et al⁵ reported IDH1 mutations in AML.
• Several groups reported the presence of IDH1 mutations in AML.^5-9
• Two studies reported IDH1 mutations in AML.^5,6
• Melik et al⁵ identified IDH1 mutations in AML while Brown¹⁰ did not.

Never refer to the number of the reference

• For a review, see Melick et al¹¹ (Not: For a review, see ¹¹)

11.2. Citation of Figures and Tables. References to tables and figures in the same article should be presented in brackets and should specify 'Table' or 'Figure' and the relevant identification number. When reference is made to more than one table or figure, please follow these examples: Figures 1 and 2; Tables 1 and 3; Figures 2-4 and 6; Tables 2, 4 and 6. References to figure panels and subpanels should be presented by adding a capital letter in alphabetic order immediately after the identification number (for example: Figure 1A, Figure 1B). When reference is made to more than one figure panel or subpanel, follow these examples: Figure 2B, C; Figure 3B-D). For references to Figures, Tables or Movies in the Supplementary data, add an S to the number of Figure-Table-Movie (e.g. Movie S1).

11.3. Citations only in the text. Any data or information not yet published in any way should not be referenced and should be mentioned in the text in parentheses. Written permission for the reference to be made must be obtained from the person concerned, a copy of which may be requested by the journal. Submitted papers follow the same rules.
(Desmopressin reduced bleeding time in a mouse model of Scott syndrome. G. Rossi, University of Pavia, email, 20 August 2020).

11.4. Reference list. Each reference must allow the reader to reach the cited document easily. It is therefore not acceptable, for example, to cite a presentation at a congress in the References if the proceedings have not been published in a scientific journal or a website. Place References after the Main text. Haematologica adopted the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)for the style of the references. So, the titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used for MEDLINE.

In short, follow these guidelines:

• Journal article with 6 or less than 6 authors: list all authors.
  Silvestri L, Pagani A, Nai A, De Domenico I, Kaplan J, Camaschella C. The serine protease matripase-2 (TMPRSS6) inhibits hepcidin activation by cleaving membrane hemojuvelin. Cell Met. 2008;8(6):502-511.

• Journal article with more than 6 authors: list the first 3 authors followed by 'et al.'
  Diop F, Moia R, Favini C, et al. Biological and clinical implications of BIRC3 mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Haematologica. 2020;105(2):448-456.

• Journal article published online as Early view or Epub ahead of print: indicate the date on which the article was published online and report the DOI (digital object identifier).'
  Hermand P, Azouzi S, Gautier EF, et al. The proteome of neutrophils in sickle cell disease reveals an unexpected activation of interferon alpha signaling pathway. Haematologica. 2020 Mar 5. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2019.238295. [Epub ahead of print]

• Journal article in press: use the phrase 'In press.' instead of year, volume number, and page numbers.
  Hermand P, Azouzi S, Gautier EF, et al. The proteome of neutrophils in sickle cell disease reveals an unexpected activation of interferon alpha signaling pathway. Haematologica. In press.

• Personal communication, submitted article, unpublished data: see above paragraph 11.3. Citations only in the text.

• Book: indicate Author(s)/Editor(s), Title, Type of Medium, Edition, Editor, Place of Publication, Publisher, Date of Publication. See International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for more details.
  Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, et al. American Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1998.

• Book chapter: indicate Author(s) of the chapter, Title of the chapter, Book Information.
  Whiteside TL, Heberman RB. Effectors of immunity and rationale for immunotherapy. In: Kufe DW, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, Bast RC Jr, Gansler TS, Holland JF, Frei E 3rd, editors. Cancer medicine 6. Hamilton (ON): BC Decker Inc; 2003. p. 221-228.

• Published abstract: indicate Author(s), Title and indication of where the abstract was published.
  Manni S, Carrino M, Fregnani A, e al. Protein kinase CK1 alpha inhibition causes mantle cell lymphoma cell apoptosis. Haematologica 2018;103(s3):abstract 829.

• Online document: indicate the author(s) or any institutional author, document title, the URL, and the date on which it was accessed.
  Boyle-Lab. Blacklist/hg19-bla cklist.v2.bed.gz at master BoyleLab/Blacklist. https://github.com/Boyle-Lab/Blacklist Accessed November 27, 2021.

• Preprint: indicate the author(s), title, name of the online platform where the preprint has been posted, date on which the article was published online, DOI (digital object identifier), indication that it is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed.
  Zhai B, Clarke K, Bauer DL et al. SARS-CoV-2 antibody response is associated with age in convalescent outpatients. medRxiv. 2021 Nov 8. doi: 11.1101/2021.11.08.21265888 [preprint, not peer-reviewed].
  
  If a DOI is not available, report the URL to reach the article.
  Yahya D, Miteva V, Micheva I, Ruseva T, Angelova L. Cytogenetic analysis of patients with hematological malignancies. Research Square. 2022 Oct 25. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-953779/v1 [preprint, not peer-reviewed].

The maximum number of figures and tables is indicated above in Types of articles.
The authors are strongly encouraged to present only the tables and figures that are essential to understand the meaning of their study in the main text, placing the other data (such as patients' characteristics and primer sequences) in the Supplementary data when this is allowed for that type of article.

For the first submission of the manuscript, it is only required that figures and tables are easy understandable. For subsequent submissions, however, figures and tables are required to comply exactly with all specific editorial rules. Failure to comply with these rules causes non-acceptance of the paper independently of its scientific merit.

12.1. Figures. Figures must be in JPG, PNG or PDF. Files of color figures should be submitted as RGB (red/green/blue; not CMYK).

The recommended resolution is 600 dpi.

Figures can be of two dimensions in terms of width:

• 8 cm (1920 pixels) for one column figures
• 16 cm (3840 pixels) for two column figures

12.1.2. Line art figures (graphs, scatter plots, diagnostic algorithms, flowcharts and other types of text-based figures). A common problem of these types of figures is that the text is written in characters that are too small and are difficult to read. Many readers of Haematologica use tablets or even smartphones to read the journal and, consequently, the optimal dimensions of writing are those that allow easy reading even on small screens. As a simple general rule, we suggest that Authors prepare their line art figures 8 cm (1920 pixels) wide or 16 cm wide (3840 pixels), and print them in their original size: the font sizes are correct if all the writing is easily legible. Even if differences in readability of different fonts prevent us from providing precise indications, we advise against the use of fonts smaller than 8 pt or larger than 12 pt. Make sure that the thickness of the lines is such as to make them easily visible when printing the figure. It is advisable to avoid pastel (light) colors for both lettering and lines because they may be poorly visible on some screens.

12.1.3. Images. Changes introduced to digital images to improve readability can result in incorrect information. It is therefore recommended that any type of image retouching is avoided. However, if the authors deem it essential to modify an image, the changes must be applied to the whole figure and not to single portions. Linear changes in contrast, brightness or color must be applied equally to all parts of the image. Contrast and brightness should not be increased to such an extent that parts of the image disappear.
Authors must include scale bars in any microscopy images of cells or tissues. Staining techniques must be reported in legends.

Electrophoretic gels and blots shoshould have full tonal range to avoid loss of data and should contain molecular weight markers. If possible, avoid constructing a figure by assembling lanes from different sections of one or more gels. If this is unavoidable, borders must be easily identifiable or marked and the legend must explain how the figure was created.
Authors may be asked to provide the original figures not retouched or cropped for review.

12.1.4. Complex, multipanel figures. Multi-paneled figures must be supplied as one file, with each panel clearly labeled. Avoid giving a header to each panel, but give this information in the figure legend. The size and style of letters and labels of different panels must be uniform within each figure and, whenever possible, between figures. See paragraphs 12.1.2 and 12.1.3 for additional technical details. The choice to reduce the number of figures by creating complex panels with a number of items is discouraged. We suggest that authors do not use more than six, simple panels for each figure. As a rule, the figures are to be published on a single page with vertical (portrait) orientation. Please take this into account when structuring your figures to avoid publishing delays resulting from our request to change them. Please, consider placing figures that are very large or do not fit on a single vertical page in the Supplementary data when this is allowed for the type of your article.

The figure below has only four panels, but it contains too many items, which are not always clearly indicated. The writing is too small and difficult to read even when the image is displayed as a full page on a large screen. Furthermore, different sizes and types of characters are used for similar writing. Figures of this type discourage the reader from reading (and therefore citing) the article.

The figure below also has 4 panels, but it is well organized, the writing is readable even on a small screen and each item is easily identifiable. This type of figure attracts readers.

12.1.5. Reproductions and adaptations. The author must obtain written permission for the reproduction and adaptation of material that has already been published. Permission should be obtained from the copyright holder or publisher. Before a manuscript is accepted, Haematologica will need to receive a copy of the written permission. All material presented from other sources should be identified and should be accompanied by a specific reference in the legend confirming that permission for its use had been obtained, for example: 'Adapted from Berger et al. Leukemia 2003, 17, 1820-1826; with permission.'

12.1.6. Legend to figures. Legends should contain a title (in bold) and sufficient details to make the figure easy to understand. When a figure contains multiple panels, the legend needs to start with a first sentence as an overall title for the entire figure and the rest of the text as the explanation of the figure panels. For the references that appear for the first time in a legend, see paragraph 10.1. Citations of Bibliographic references.
All abbreviations, acronyms and symbols in each figure should be explained in the legend regardless of whether this was done in the main text.

12.1.7. Videos. We recommend the MP4 format. In case MP4 is not available, we accept MOV and AVI. Videos must be no larger than 10 MB. For optimal compatibility across operating systems and devices, please select H.264 compression when saving.

12.2. Tables. As for figures, consider the possibility of placing non essential tables in Supplementary data when this is allowed for the type of article being submitted. This is particular important for very large tables that take up more than one page or do not fit on a single page in a portrait orientation. Haematologica accepts any type of table formatting. However, we suggest using spreadsheet software programs (such as Microsoft Excel Tables or Microsoft Word Tables) that allow automatic transfer of data and reduce the risk of mistakes during manual transcription. Tables should have a short and clear title. Provide a legend (if needed) directly below the table. Explain all abbreviations, acronyms and symbols in the legend, regardless of whether this was done in the main text of the manuscript.

Prepare one single PDF file containing all supplementary data (supplementary methods, supplementary results, supplementary figures, supplementary tables). The Supplementary data has its own reference list. Everything that is included in the Supplementary data must comply with editorial rules. Please consider that we will not modify in any way what is included in the PDF and that failure to comply with editorial rules does not allow us to publish the article. Whenever possible, keep the PDF size below 30 MB. Additional files that cannot be incorporated in the PDF file (such as videos, large excel tables running over several pages, etc.) should be provided separately. Please note that for technical reasons files not embedded in the pdf will not be visible when the paper appears online as Early view, but will be published after its inclusion in an issue.

14.1. Submission fee. A nonrefundable fee of € 70 (including VAT) is due on submission for all uninvited papers with the only exception of Guidelines and Comments.

14.2. Publication charge.

• Guideline articles, Comments and all kinds of papers by invitation: Free of charge.
  
  
• Original articles, uninvited Reviews, uninvited Perspective articles and uninvited Editorials submitted before September 1, 2024: € 2,300 (plus VAT when needed) if authors choose to transfer the copyright to the Ferrata Storti Foundation, owner of the journal, under a Creative Commons license CC BY-NC (see section 17);
  € 3,000 (plus VAT when needed) if authors' institutions or funders require publication under a CC BY license (see section 17).
  
  
• Original articles, uninvited Reviews, uninvited Perspective articles and uninvited Editorials submitted starting from September 1, 2024: € 2,500 (plus VAT when needed) if authors choose to transfer the copyright to the Ferrata Storti Foundation, owner of the journal, under a CC BY-NC;
  € 3,000 (plus VAT when needed) if authors' institutions or funders require publication under a CC BY license.
  
  
• Letters and Case reports submitted before September 1, 2024: € 600 (plus VAT when needed) if authors choose to transfer the copyright to the Ferrata Storti Foundation, owner of the journal, under a Creative Commons license CC BY-NC;
  € 900 (plus VAT when needed) if authors' institutions or funders require publication under a CC BY license.
  
  
• Letters and Case reports submitted starting from September 1, 2024: € 800 (plus VAT when needed) if authors choose to transfer the copyright to the Ferrata Storti Foundation, owner of the journal, under a Creative Commons license CC BY-NC;
  € 1,100 (plus VAT when needed) if authors' institutions or funders require publication under a CC BY license.
  
  
• No publication charge is required for authors from countries defined as low-income by the World Bank.
  
  

During submission, authors are asked to disclose any potential conflicts of interest by filling in a form prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. For information on conflicts of interest, see Disclosure of financial and non-financial relationship and activities, and conflicts of interest in Our Policies

Submitted articles undergo the regular revision process which, in the event the manuscript does not undergo a quick rejection and is subject to external review, allows a first response in 3-4 weeks. In rare cases, the Editor can accept the authors' request that the manuscript follows an accelerated procedure (see 15.2 Fast-track review).

15.1. Regular submission. Go to Submit a manuscript and follow the instructions.

Be ready to submit the files indicated in Section 3. Different requirements for first submission and revised manuscript.
For Revised manuscripts, make sure that all changes are in color (do not use 'track changes'). Moreover, be ready to provide a detailed description of all changes made in the main manuscript in response to the questions/remarks of the reviewers. In order to prepare this document, copy and paste each question/remark of the reviewers and provide a short answer on how this question/remark has been addressed in the revised manuscript. The description of changes can be copied and pasted into a text box during online submission. If figures or tables need to be included in the answers to the reviewers, a PDF file with that information can be uploaded as a supplementary file.

Please consider that the authors' names and affiliations inserted in the online submission system will be those that will appear in PubMed soon after pre-publication. The Haematologica Journal staff is therefore not responsible for eventual inaccuracies or mistakes in the affiliations introduced during the submission process. Please, also note that the affiliations that will appear in PubMed after the final publication of the paper will be those indicated by the authors during the proofreading and they will replace the ones appeared in the pre-publication

Before resubmitting a manuscript that has been modified according to reviewers' suggestions, carefully check that all content, including Results, Tables and Figures, is correct. If accepted, your manuscript will be pre-published exactly as it is. Moreover, what is contained in the pre-published manuscript will be used for producing the final version of your article that will be included in an issue of the journal. Please, take note that the data cannot be changed during the production process and that their correction requires publication of an erratum in one of the following issues of the journal.

15.2. Fast-track review. Manuscripts (Original articles) reporting results that promise to substantially change clinical practice or the current view of biological processes associated with blood diseases can be selected for fast-track review. These papers will receive an initial decision within 1 week. We can only select a few articles for fast track, as this requires extra efforts by our reviewers and editors. Thus, these manuscripts will be selected by the editors. Authors can request fast-track review by e-mail: please send the manuscript as a PDF file with an accompanying explanation why rapid review should be considered to: [email protected]

All manuscripts submitted to Haematologica are critically revised in accordance with the principles of Peer Review of JCMJE. Each paper is first evaluated by one or more editors, who will assess the overall quality and novelty of the work and the article's appropriateness for the scope of Haematologica. Articles that are not found to be relevant for Haematologica will not be sent out for external review and will be returned to the authors. The remaining articles are reviewed by external referees. We aim to provide feedback to the authors in less than 4 weeks after submission (1 week for Fast track articles).

To speed up the diffusion of papers accepted by Haematologica, their PDF is published as Early View in the final version submitted by the authors. On average, this happens 10 days after acceptance. What was published as Early View is then subjected to linguistic revision and edited according to the Haematologica format to be included in a journal issue. The authors are then asked to approve the edited version of the manuscript. It is therefore essential that the final version of the manuscript submitted by the authors is verified in all its details (names of the authors, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding, tables, figures etc.) because no change will be possible after acceptance, with the exception of the formal changes requested by the Office. Other changes requested by authors after publication of the manuscript in Early View require publication of an 'Erratum’ by the authors.

Authors can choose to publish their manuscripts in Haematologica under a Creative Commons license CC BY-NC or a Creative Commons license CC BY. For other types of copyright management, please contact the Editorial office.

According to both CC BY-NC and CC BY licenses, an article may be copied, displayed, distributed, republished or otherwise reused for non-commercial purposes. With the CC BY-NC license the authors transfer the copyright of the article to the Ferrata Storti Foundation, which becomes the only body authorized to use the article for commercial purposes. With the CC BY license, anyone can use the article even for commercial purposes. The latter license is required by some funding bodies or by some institutions to which authors belong. For more detail on this matter see: Right & Permissions