Publication rate of abstracts from the annual ASTRO meeting: comparison with other organizations

One of the explicit goals of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is to promote research and disseminate research results. In the past few years, ASTRO has required that manuscripts be submitted for publication for all papers accepted for oral presentation at its annual meeting. The purpose of this study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts accepted for oral presentation at ASTRO's 1999, 2000, and 2001 annual meetings.

The authors reviewed the proceedings of ASTRO's annual meetings in 1999, 2000, and 2001 to identify all abstracts accepted for oral presentation. The following information was collected: year of presentation, study design (phase I or II, phase III, or retrospective), country of origin (domestic or foreign), abstract category (clinical or nonclinical), disease site (if applicable), publication (yes or no), publication date, and publishing journal. A computer-based search using Medline was used to determine whether the full publication of each abstract had occurred. The computer search included publication up to November 1, 2003.

The publication rate was 56% (452 of 802). There was no difference in publication rate according to country of origin (domestic 56%, foreign 57%; p = NS), abstract category (clinical 59%, nonclinical 48%; p = NS), or study design. Half of the published abstracts were published within 1 year of the meeting, and 90% were published within 2 years. The 452 publications were distributed among 54 different journals. The majority of papers were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics (62%), followed by the Journal of Clinical Oncology (8%) and Radiotherapy and Oncology (3%).

Slightly more than one-half of the abstracts accepted for oral presentation at the annual ASTRO meeting are published within 2 years. This rate is similar to those of other specialties and suggests that ASTRO is succeeding in its mission to promote and disseminate research.