Current Thoracic Surgery (CTS) is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record through independently defined and strictly enforced ethical policies. All editorial and publication decisions are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial board of CTS. The publisher has no influence on manuscript evaluation, peer review processes, or acceptance decisions.
The journal follows internationally recognized ethical principles, including those of COPE, ICMJE, WAME, and CSE. These frameworks are used as guiding standards; however, CTS policies are defined, implemented, and owned by the journal’s editorial structure.
All submitted manuscripts must be original, scientifically accurate, and ethically compliant. CTS does not accept any form of research or publication misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, improper authorship practices, or undeclared conflicts of interest. Each submission is screened for similarity and ethical compliance before and during peer review.
Editorial responsibilities
The Editor-in-Chief holds final responsibility for all publication decisions. Manuscripts are evaluated based on scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal scope, and adherence to ethical standards. Where necessary, Associate Editors and external reviewers provide recommendations; however, the final decision remains exclusively with the Editor-in-Chief.
All editorial evaluations are conducted confidentially and without discrimination based on nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, or political beliefs.
Peer review integrity
CTS operates a double-blind peer review system. Reviewers are required to provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations, maintain confidentiality, and disclose any conflicts of interest. Reviewers must also alert the editorial office to any ethical concerns, including plagiarism, redundant publication, or suspected misconduct.
Author responsibilities
Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, and ethical integrity of their work. All listed authors must meet ICMJE authorship criteria and approve the final manuscript before submission. Any contributions not meeting authorship criteria must be acknowledged separately.
Authors must disclose all financial relationships, funding sources, and potential conflicts of interest. Research involving humans or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards, and approval from an appropriate ethics committee must be clearly stated in the Methods section. Informed consent must be obtained where required.
Prospective registration is mandatory for clinical trials, and trial registration details must be included in the manuscript. All clinical trials must be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov or WHO ICTRP), and the registration number must be provided at the time of submission. Studies must follow relevant reporting guidelines such as CONSORT where applicable.
Post-publication integrity
CTS applies COPE guidelines when handling post-publication issues. Corrections are issued for minor errors that do not affect scientific conclusions. Retractions are published in cases of serious ethical violations or invalidated findings. Expressions of concern may be issued while investigations are ongoing. All actions are taken to preserve transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record.
