Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

Below are the guidelines for your abstract submission. The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that the abstract adheres to these guidelines.

Submit Abstract

Regular and Young Investigator Award (YIA) Abstract Submission

April 23, 2025 – June 26, 2025 at 5 p.m. PT

Late-Breaking Abstract - Clinical Only (LBA) Submission

July 16, 2025 – Sept. 15, 2025 at 5 p.m. PT

Late-Breaking Abstracts - Clinical Only (LBAs)

Clinical Abstracts: LBAs must address interventional clinical trials in humans. LBAs addressing basic science or translational data with no in-human studies will not be accepted. LBAs may contain data from preclinical studies, but they must also include clinical data from in-human trials. Authors will need to justify why the abstract is considered late-breaking. Clinical trial LBAs should be submitted during the LBA submission period, from July 16 – September 15 at 5 p.m. PT.

If a LBA is not accepted, it will not be published or presented at the meeting. There is not an option for it to be considered as a Regular/YIA Abstract.

Late-Breaking Abstracts - Clinical Only (LBAs)

Guidelines for Basic or Translational Abstracts: Because LBAs will be limited to clinical studies, authors submitting an abstract of a basic science or translational study must submit their abstract by the Regular/YIA Abstract deadline of June 26 at 5 p.m. PT. If some results from the study are not available before the abstract submission deadline, authors are encouraged to submit an abstract by the deadline and include the new data in their abstract presentation.

General Requirements

  • Type the text unjustified without hyphenating words at line breaks
  • Use single line spacing. Use hard returns only to end headings and paragraphs
  • Abbreviations should be used as sparingly as possible and should be defined when first used
  • All abstracts must be in English. Spelling within any one abstract should be US English or UK English, but not a mixture
  • In most cases, Greek letters and other special characters will transfer from your word processing software via copy and paste functions. If you are unable to reproduce a particular special character, type out the name of the symbol in full
  • SI units should be used throughout (liter and molar are permitted, however.)

Title

The title must be entered exactly as it should appear and should be in sentence case. Do not put the title in quotes, underline it, or use punctuation. The title can be a maximum of 200 characters, including spaces.

Example: Novel pharmacologic approach to enhance the epigenetic and immune priming effect of decitabine in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Clinical Trial In Progress and Clinical Trial Complete

Abstract submitters must answer whether the abstract being submitted is based on a clinical trial and will be presenting clinical data. If the abstract being submitted is a clinical trial abstract, please mark whether it is an in progress or a completed clinical trial. For more information about what is considered a clinical trial in progress, click here. If the abstract will incorporate basic or pre-clinical research, please mark that it is not a clinical trial abstract. 

Inclusion Enrollment Report Data Table: To assist with SITC’s commitment to improve diversity and inclusion in clinical trials, it is asked that clinical trial abstract submitters please complete the Inclusion Enrollment Report data table, which follows the NIH data template. This data will not be shared with abstract reviewers and will not be included in the publication of accepted abstracts. The data will only be accessible to SITC staff and will only be reported in aggregate. Presenters for abstracts that are accepted for a poster or oral presentation are encouraged to include this data in the presentation if applicable. Thank you for helping SITC monitor the landscape of diversity in clinical trial enrollment.

Abstract Category

All abstract submitters will be asked to indicate the primary category with which the abstract most closely aligns. This primary selection will aid the abstract reviewers in placing the abstract into the most appropriate session, if accepted for oral presentation. Accepted abstracts are also listed according to the primary category selected within the JITC supplement and the Poster Hall.

Should the submitter believe more than one category is applicable, they can select a secondary category. The secondary category will only be used aid the abstract reviewers in placing the abstract into the most appropriate session, if accepted for oral presentation. The secondary category WILL NOT be used for the abstract listing in publications or placement in the Poster Hall.

Keywords

All abstract submitters will be asked to indicate keywords for their abstract. Keywords are included in the publications, website and app to assist users in searching for abstracts. Up to 10 keywords can be selected.

Abstract Structure

The following is included in the abstract body and must not exceed 400 words total: 

  • Background
  • Methods
  • Results*
  • Conclusions*
*For Clinical Trials in Progress, results and conclusions are not required.

The following are not included in the 400-word limit:

In addition to the abstract body, you should include the following information, if applicable.

  • Acknowledgements: Brief acknowledgements may be included.
  • Trial Registration: If applicable, abstracts related to randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) should include the trial registry along with the unique identifying number. Trial registers that currently meet the publisher’s requirements can be found here.
  • Ethics Approval: If the abstract discusses studies involving human subjects, human material, or human data, or involving animals, an ethics statement should be included: "The study was approved by XYZ intuition’s Ethics Board, approval number 12345."
  • Consent: If applicable, for abstracts containing sensitive or identifiable information, written consent to publish must be obtained from the study participant(s) by authors. In these cases authors should include a ‘consent’ section in their abstract and SITC recommends using the following wording: “Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this abstract and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor of this journal.”
  • References: Citations to references should be included in square brackets [1,2]. All references need corresponding citations in the text, and vice versa.
    • Journal abbreviations should follow MEDLINE standards. References should be laid out at the end of the abstract.
      • Example: Lastname A, Lastname B, Lastname C. Title of journal article. Journal Medline abbreviation. Year; Volume:first page-last page.

Authors and Institutions

All authors and contact information must be listed in the correct order. The order in which authors will be listed in the author block of all publications including online, the Annual Meeting Abstract Book, and the JITC Supplement is the order that they are entered.

Each author MUST indicate at least one institution affiliation. Affiliations should include Department, University, Town, State, USA OR Institution, Town, Country, for example:

1Pathology Department, New York School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
2Roche Innovation Center Penzberg, Penzberg, Germany

The author submitting an abstract to the 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2025) must agree to the following:

  • Serve as the contact for all correspondence about the abstract and inform co-authors about its status
  • Confirm all authors are aware of and agree to the content and data presented in the abstract
  • Verify the abstract is accurate and that permission has been obtained from all relevant parties
  • Verify the abstract has not been published prior to SITC 2025, or if previously published, contains significant new data
  • Agree that the full abstract content submitted to SITC 2025 is embargoed until 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 4, 2025 for Regular/YIA Abstracts and until 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 7, 2025 for LBAs. 
  • Agree to release of the abstract title prior to the SITC embargo date and time of 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 4, 2025 for Regular/YIA Abstract and and until 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 7, 2025 for LBAs. Regular/YIA Abstract titles will be released on Oct. 3, 2025 at 9 a.m. ET and LBA titles will be release on Oct. 30, 2025 at 9 a.m. ET.
  • Agree to follow all media and press release policies set forth by SITC

Tables, Figures and Images

  • Up to 2 figures, tables, and/or images may be included.
  • Tables, figures and images must have a title and should be numbered (ie: Table 1, Figure 1, or Image 1). Titles must be added before the image is uploaded. 
    • When uploading an image please enter the Title first and then browse to the image that will be uploaded. Click the save button to finalize upload. 
    • Once the image is uploaded, the caption box will become available. 
    • If you would like to include a caption, it should be entered in the caption field. Figure captions should not be included in the uploaded file. Captions are optional.
  • The background, methods, results and conclusions are the only fields included in the word count. The fields that are no longer in the word count include the acknowledgements, trial resignation, references, ethics approval and the consent. Any tables, figures and/or images are not included in the abstract word count.
  • All figures, tables, and images need corresponding citations in the text. Citations to any figures (Figure 1), tables (Table 1) or images (Image 1) must also be included in round brackets. All figures and tables need corresponding citations in the text, and vice versa
  • Figures must be supplied electronically at 300 dpi minimum (600 dpi preferred)
  • Do not include figures with embedded hyperlink
  • The following file types will be accepted: .png, .jpg, .gif

Your submission needs to have a minimum of:

  • One Corresponding Author
  • One Presenting Author
  • One Primary Author

The presenting author will need to complete a Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Form. Once the abstract is submitted, the presenting author will be sent an email notification to complete the form.

There is no limit to the number of authors you can include.

Young Investigator Award (YIA) Abstract Additional Fields

Young Investigator Award (YIA) Abstracts: Submitters of abstracts that qualify for a YIA and indicate they would like to be considered for a YIA must include the following information in their application:

  • Upload a letter of recommendation from a supervisor (i.e. department head, advisor, etc. at their institution). The letter should comment on the applicant’s academic and personal qualifications for this award (.doc, .docx, .pdf).
  • Confirm they are a SITC member
  • Confirm they are a student, postdoctoral research fellow, clinical fellow, or junior faculty with three or fewer years on staff, and identify which category they represent
  • Indicate the percentage of contribution by the primary and presenting author in regards to conception and design, collection and assembly, data analysis and interpretation, and abstract writing

Clinical Trial Abstract Additional Fields

Inclusion Enrollment Report Data Table

To assist with SITC’s commitment to improve diversity and inclusion in clinical trials, it is asked that clinical trial abstract submitters please complete the Inclusion Enrollment Report data table, which follows the NIH data template. This data will not be shared with abstract reviewers and will not be included in the publication of accepted abstracts. The data will only be accessible to SITC staff and will only be reported in aggregate. Presenters for abstracts that are accepted for a poster or oral presentation are encouraged to include this data in the presentation if applicable. Thank you for helping SITC monitor the landscape of diversity in clinical trial enrollment.

Late-Breaking Abstracts - Clinical Only (LBAs) Additional Fields

Click here for LBA Eligibility 

Late-breaking Abstract - Clinical Only (LBA) submission is solely for abstracts with late-breaking data from interventional clinical trials in humans and not for abstracts submitted “late.” The LBA deadline is not intended to be an extension of the general submission deadline. LBAs highlight novel and practice-changing  in-human clinical studies, and only apply to data that would have not otherwise have been presented as an abstract at the 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting.

Authors of LBAs do not need to submit an application or a place-holder abstract. LBAs should be submitted during the LBA submission period, from July 16 – September 15 at 5 p.m. PT.

If a LBA is not accepted, it will not be published or presented at the meeting. There is no longer an option for it to be considered as a Regular/YIA Abstract.

LBAs will have additional fields required to be completed during the submission process. 

Late-Breaking Abstracts - Clinical Only (LBAs)

LBAs will need to include the following information in their abstract:

  • Closure date of the study
  • Primary clinical endpoint for analysis
  • Type of analysis
  • Provide an explanation why the abstract should be considered for late-breaking submission