Why review for TPCT
Reviewers protect the quality of the therapeutics and toxicology literature and help authors, many of them early-career clinicians, publish sound work. TPCT issues review certificates on request.
Before accepting
Accept only if the manuscript falls within your expertise, you can return the review within two weeks, and you have no competing interest (same institution or department, co-authorship or shared funding in the past three years, personal or financial ties, direct competition). Do not contact the authors.
Confidentiality
The manuscript, its data and your report are confidential. Do not share or discuss the manuscript, do not use its content before publication, and do not upload any part of it to a generative artificial-intelligence tool or other external service. If you wish to involve a colleague or trainee, ask the editor first and name that person in your report.
What to assess
Originality and importance of the question; adequacy of the study design, sample size and controls; ethics approval, consent and trial registration; correctness and completeness of the statistical analysis; whether the results support the conclusions; clarity of tables and figures; completeness and accuracy of the references; compliance with the relevant reporting guideline; for case reports, novelty, adequate documentation and a clear educational message; for reviews, a described search strategy, balanced coverage and critical appraisal; language and structure.
Writing the report
Open with a two-sentence summary of the work in your own words, then list major points (issues that affect validity or conclusions) and minor points (clarity, presentation, typographical errors), numbered so that the authors can respond point by point. Be specific and constructive, avoid personal comments, and do not ask authors to cite your own work unless it is essential. Comments to the editor only (confidential) can be given separately. Recommend accept, minor revision, major revision or reject; the decision rests with the editor.
Suspected misconduct
Report to the editor, in confidence, any suspicion of plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, image manipulation, undeclared conflicts or unethical research; do not investigate on your own.
Timing
Return the report within two weeks; ask for an extension if needed. Declining promptly, ideally with a suggested alternative reviewer, is as helpful as reviewing.