The Nowotwory journal over the last 95 years (1923–2018)

Abstract

Launching of the journal and its development One of the first global initiatives for publishing a periodical devoted to the fight against cancer arose in Poland back in 1906, when both Dr Mikołaj Rejchmann and Dr Józef Jaworski from Warsaw set up an Anti-Cancer Committee (Komitet do Walki z Rakiem). One of its aims was to launch a journal, however this proved impossible due to the unfavourable conditions prevailing at that time. When Poland regained its independence, organising anti-cancer policies again became a priority. In July 1921, an Polish Anti-Cancer Committee (Polski Komitet do Zwalczania Raka) in Warsaw came into being. Despite scant resources it rapidly and enthusiastically started its operations. This was reflected by publishing a journal entitled The Bulletin of the Polish Anti-Cancer Committee (Biuletyn Polskiego Komitetu do Zwalczania Raka). The first edition was published in 1923, whose editor was Dr Stefan Sterling-Okuniewski, MD. At that time, this really was a pioneering endeavour as there were only 5 other such journals dedicated solely to the anti-cancer campaign in the world: the German Zeitschrift für Krebsforschung (1903), the Japanese Gann (1907), the French Bulletin de l’Association Francaise pour l’Etude du Cancer (1909), the Italian Tumori (1911) and from the USA Journal of Cancer Research (1916)1. As a comparison, the