Editorial Style Guide

(Abbreviated Version)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

i3 Health Editorial Style........................................................................................................................ 3

I. Text................................................................................................................................................ 3
A. Acronyms/Abbreviations.......................................................................................................... 3
B. Bullets....................................................................................................................................... 3
C. Citations.................................................................................................................................... 4
D. References................................................................................................................................. 6
E. Drug Names............................................................................................................................... 9
F. Medical Terminology................................................................................................................ 9
G. Footnotes................................................................................................................................... 9
H. Questions.................................................................................................................................. 9
II. Numbers...................................................................................................................................... 10
A. General Rules.......................................................................................................................... 10
B. Statistics.................................................................................................................................. 11
C. Cancer Stages.......................................................................................................................... 11
III. Figures and Tables..................................................................................................................... 12
IV. Preferred Usage......................................................................................................................... 13
V. Miscellaneous Style Rules.......................................................................................................... 14
VI. Keyboard Shortcuts for Symbols............................................................................................... 15

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 2 of 14

i3 HEALTH EDITORIAL STYLE

I. TEXT

A. Acronyms/Abbreviations

 Define terms the first time an abbreviation is used; this includes basic medical procedures
(eg, MRI). Exceptions:
o Some abbreviations are not defined (eg, MD, PhD, FDA, BELIEF trial)
o Regimens are typically defined after the acronym. For example, hyperCVAD
(cyclophosphamide/vincristine/adriamycin/dexamethasone)
o Define acronyms for genes and proteins, except when it is overly tedious to do so
(such as in an acronym-overburdened image within a presentation)
 Abbreviations are all uppercase with no periods (eg, MD, PhD, FDA, BELIEF trial)
o Apart from PhD, the “all uppercase” guideline applies to all terms, including graft-
versus-host disease (GVHD, not GvHD), duration of response (DOR, not DoR) and
quality of life (QOL, not QoL). It also applies to QD, Q3W, BID, etc
 Not necessary to spell out if the context explains the term or phrase
 If a term is only used once, do not use the abbreviation
 When the term is used at the beginning of a sentence, spell it out

B. Bullets

 First letter after a bullet should be capped. Exception: nab-Paclitaxel, not Nab-paclitaxel
 No periods in bulleted points unless there are two or more sentences. In the case of multiple
sentences, do not put a period at the end of the last sentence

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 3 of 14

C. Citations

 For slides and tables, use the insert textbox function to add slide references to the lower left-
hand corner of the slide; use 10-point font
o Separate multiple citations with semicolons
o Use a period after the last citation. Example:
 Peabody et al, 2018; Peabody et al, 2016; Van Eerden et al, 2015.

 For other situations, such as gap analyses and general pieces of writing, use parenthetical
citations. Separate multiple citations with semicolons

 For news stories, do not include in-text citations; list references under the “For More
Information” section at the bottom of the article

Citation Format
 For multiple authors:
o One author: Smith, 2017.
o Two authors: Smith & Brown, 2017.
o More than 2 authors: Smith et al, 2017.

 Same first author, different second author published in the same year:
o Cejas, Drier et al, 2019; Cejas, Dreijerink et al, 2019.

 If all of the authors are the same for two articles published in the same year, use a and b to
distinguish. Example:
o Cejas et al, 2019a; Cejas et al, 2019b.
o In this case, use corresponding lettering for the References page entry:
 Cejas P, Drier Y, Dreijerink KMA, et al (2019a). Enhancer signatures
stratify and predict outcomes of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine
tumors. Nat Med. [Epub ahead of print] DOI:10.1038/s41591-019-0493-4
o Studies should be labeled as “a,” “b,” “c,” etc depending on the order in which they
will appear in the References section (alphabetized by the first element in which they
differ from each other, which in this case will be the article title)

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 4 of 14

 For articles referenced directly in the text (eg, “A study by Smith shows…”), add the year
after the author’s last name. Example:
o “A review article by Smith (2015) showed that rituximab…”

 For direct references with 2 authors, the correct format is [Author 1] & [Author 2] (Year).
Example:
o “A review by Smith & Jones (2015) showed that…”

 For more than 2 authors, the format is [Author 1] and colleagues (Year). Example:
o “A review by Smith and colleagues (2015) showed that…”

 Where a URL is listed, check the link and use the sponsoring agency and the year in which
the page was updated as the citation

 Format for a package insert: (Avastin ® prescribing information, 2019)

 Abbreviate organizations for in-text citations: (NCCN, 2019)

o Write out the full name of the organization in the References section

 Clinical trials: Clinicaltrials.gov, 2019.

o If citing multiple clinical trials from the same year, use “a” and “b” in the way stated
above for multiple studies by the same author in the same year:
 Clinicaltrials.gov, 2019a; Clinicaltrials.gov, 2019b.

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 5 of 14

D. References

 A journal reference is formatted as follows:

[Author last name] [first initial] (Year). Article title. Journal Abbreviation, vol(issue):page
range. DOI if available

Example:

Yohe S (2015). Molecular genetic markers in acute myeloid leukemia. J Clin Med, 4(3):460-
478. DOI:10.3390/jcm4030460

 For more than one author, use the same format as above for the first 3 authors, then add “et
al:”
McKay P, Leach M, Jackson R, et al (2012). Guidelines for the investigation and
management of mantle cell lymphoma. Br J Haematol, 159(4):405-426.
DOI:10.1111/bjh.12046
o Note: “et al” means “and others.” If there are only 4 authors, then list all

 If there are only 3 or 4 authors, no comma before ampersand. Example:

Chen TC, Schein OD & Miller JW (2015). Sentinel events, serious reportable events,
and root cause analysis. JAMA Ophthalmol, 133(6):631-632.
DOI:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2015.0672

 Meeting abstracts:
Ryan DH, Uy GL, Cortes JE, et al (2018). Efficacy and safety of CPX-351 versus 7+3 in
a subgroup of older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with
myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) enrolled in a phase 3 study. Blood
(ASH Annual Meeting Abstracts), 132(suppl_1). Abstract 1425.
DOI:10.1182/blood-2018-99-111514
Chau I, Bendell JC, Calvo E, et al (2017). Ramucirumab (R) plus pembrolizumab (P) in
treatment naive and previously treated advanced gastric or gastroesophageal
junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma: a multi-disease phase I study. J Clin Oncol
(ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts), 35 (suppl_16). Abstract 4046.
DOI:10.1200/JCO.2017.35.15_suppl.4046

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 6 of 14

Schuster SJ, Svoboda J, Nasta SD, et al (2015). Sustained remissions following chimeric
antigen receptor modified T cells directed against CD19 (CTL019) in patients
with relapsed or refractory CD19+ lymphomas [oral presentation]. 57th
American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition. Abstract 183.
 Note: if the meeting abstract was not published in a journal, no italics

 Clinical trials:
Clinicaltrials.gov (2015). A study of nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors plus abemaciclib
(LY2835219) in postmenopausal women with breast cancer (MONARCH 3). NLM
identifier: NCT02246621.

 Books:
Amin MB, Edge S, Green F, et al (2017). AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 8th ed. New York,
NY: Springer.

 Press releases:
AstraZeneca (2017). US FDA approves AstraZeneca’s Calquence (acalabrutinib) for adult
patients with previously-treated mantle cell lymphoma [news release].
Available at: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2017/us-fda-
approves-astrazenecas-calquence-acalabrutinib-for-adult-patients-with-previously-
treated-mantle-cell-lymphoma-24102017.html

 Newspaper articles:
Ofri D (2019, June 8). The business of health care depends on exploiting doctors and nurses.
New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com

 Epub ahead of print:

Matsubara N, Nagamori S, Wakumoto Y, et al (2017). Phase II study of radium-223
dichloride in Japanese patients with symptomatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Int J Clin Oncol. [Epub ahead of print] DOI:10.1007/s10147-017-1176-0

 NCCN guidelines:
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2018). Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology:
non-small cell lung cancer. Version 3.2018. Available at: http://www.nccn.org

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 7 of 14

 Prescribing information:
Sprycel® (dasatinib) prescribing information (2016). Bristol-Myers Squibb. Available at:
http://packageinserts.bms.com/pi/pi_sprycel.pdf

 Website:
Association of Community Cancer Centers (2014). Effective practices in gastric cancer
programs. Available at: https://www.acc-cancer.org

 An online news site:

Smith K (2019). Apalutamide for metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: Kim N. Chi,
MD. i3 Health News and Perspectives. Available at:
https://www.i3health.us/news/apalutamide-for-metastatic-castration-sensitive-
prostate-cancer-kim-n-chi-md

 When citing SEER data, citation should be SEER (even though it is part of NCI). The reference
will look like this:
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (2019). Cancer stat facts: lung and
bronchus cancer. Available at: https://www.seer.cancer/gov

 Note that the NCCN guidelines should be cited in the year they’re updated, which doesn’t always
match the version number

General Guidelines:
 References should be in alphabetical order by last name
 If two references have the same first 3 authors, order numerically by date. If same year, add
“a” and “b” to the years, eg, 2016a
 Do not put a period after website links or DOIs unless something follows them
 Always refer to the most recent update of a study
 Acronyms are not necessary for references
 Do not put a space after “DOI:” or a period at the end
 The article title should always be in sentence case

 If a supplement, do not initial cap “suppl.” Example:

J Clin Oncol, 34(suppl_17). Abstract 7000.

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 8 of 14

E. Drug Names

 Check drug names to make sure the generic is listed; replace any brand names
o Exception: in news articles such as FDA approvals, put the brand name in
parentheses after the generic, along with the name of the manufacturing
pharmaceutical, on the first mention only
o It is okay to use the brand name when citing the prescribing information
o Be sure to include ® or TM where applicable

F. Medical Terminology

 For conditions, treatments, etc that can have several different terms, refer to the AMA style
guide for preferences. If AMA has no preference, refer to the Journal of Clinical Oncology
 See specific stylistic usages under the “Preferred Usages” section included later in this
document

G. Footnotes

 Insert a textbox in the lower left-hand corner of the slide:10-point News Gothic font
 Put a period at the end of each footnote, even if it is not a complete sentence
 Use superscript lowercase letters rather than symbols (eg, aIntent to treat analysis, not *Intent
to treat analysis). Make sure all have a corresponding footnote
 One footnote per line only, but acronym definitions can all go on the same line
 In-text: if footnote appears at the end of a sentence, it should go after the punctuation, not
before

H. Questions

 Answer choices should be bullets with letters, not symbols

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 9 of 14

II. NUMBERS

A. General Rules

 Arabic numerals are used to express numbers (including those <10) in most circumstances.
Exceptions:
o Numbers that begin a sentence, title, subtitle, or heading
o Spelled-out fractions take a hyphen (eg, “two-thirds of participants”)
o Idiomatic expressions or numbers used as pronouns
o Other uses of “one” in running text (eg, when “one” means “a/an” or “a single”)
o Ordinals first through ninth
o Numbers spelled out in quotes or published titles
o Cancer stages
o In news articles, follow Associated Press (AP) style in writing out numbers under 10.
Exceptions are made for trial data, in which numbers under 10 should be written as
numerals
 Arabic numerals are typically used for adverse event grades unless the grading system
indicates otherwise
o Exception: Glucksberg grading of GVHD uses Roman numerals for grades and
Arabic numerals for stages
 30th, not 30th
 Use the % symbol rather than spelling out “percent” (eg, 50%, not fifty percent)
o Exception: when the number itself is written out at the start of a sentence (eg, “Fifty
percent of participants agreed”)
 Use a comma in numbers >999: 1,000 mg, not 1000 mg
 INCORRECT: 5 mg dose. Correct: 5-mg dose
 For < and >, do not leave a space between the number and the symbol
 For ≥ and ≤, do not simply underline; use the Option key
 Leave one space before and after an equal sign unless it denotes a statistic like “n”
 Use SI units, except for height (inches) and weight (pounds)
 Use Arabic numerals for clinical trial phases, eg, phase 3, not phase III
 Use “to” instead of hyphens for ranges in text (eg, 6 to 12 weeks, not 6-12 weeks)
o Use hyphens (not dashes) for ranges in bulleted text as well as in tables (eg, 2%-5%).
Do not include a space before or after the hyphen
 For powers of 10, do not leave a space before or after the “x”
o Example: 5x106
 Grade 1, 2, 3, etc
 On Day 3, but on the third day

B. Statistics

 Use the following format in graphs: HR=0.51 (95% CI:0.43-0.62) unless it is not editable
 P value:
o Note that P is both italicized and capitalized
o In “P value,” note that “value” should be lower case

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 10 of 14

 P values and hazard ratios should have a zero before the decimal point and no space before or
after an =, <, >, ≤,or ≥ sign:
o P<0.01
o HR=0.65
o Note: when words come either before or after the = sign, it should have a space on
both sides. One example of this would be abbreviation explanations in slide footnotes
 Note the difference between N values and n values:
o N = the overall study population
o n = a subset of the study population, such as an arm of a clinical trial or a subset of
patients that have a certain genetic mutation, etc

C. Cancer Stages

 Cancer stages are expressed with the use of roman numerals: stage I, stage II, stage III, stage
IV
 The term “stage 0” usually indicates carcinoma in situ
 Histologic grades and ECOG performance status are expressed with Arabic numerals: eg,
grade 2
 Letter and numerical suffixes, usually set on the line, may be added to subdivide individual
cancer stages: stage 0a, stage 0is, stage IA, stage IE
 TNM staging is expressed with no spaces in between (eg, T1N2M0)

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 11 of 14

III. FIGURES AND TABLES

 Initial cap all words in table and graph titles except prepositions <4 letters long, coordinating
conjunctions, and definiate and indefinite articles (“a,” “an,” and “the”)
 Initial cap only the first word in row and column headers throughout the table
 Initial cap only the first word in axis labels
 Align decimal points in tables
 Use hyphens for ranges in tables, eg, 2%-5%
 Use N when referring to the entire study population; use n when referring to a subset
 Abbreviate months (mos), years (yrs), hours (h), minutes (min), days (d)
 All units in labels should be in parentheses
 Spell out words in x- and y-axes if there is enough space (eg, “years” instead of “yrs”)
 Refer to the i3 Health Slide Deck Playbook for additional guidelines regarding the formatting
of tables

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 12 of 14

IV. PREFERRED USAGE

 54-year-old woman, not 54 y/o female

 Older adult patients, not elderly patients
 Patients with cancer, not cancer patients
 Emergency department, not emergency room
 Interferon alfa, not interferon alpha
 End point, not endpoint
 Health care, not healthcare
 Home care, not homecare
 Patients, not participants (in a study)
 “Compared with” is preferred to “compared to” in most situations
 Opioid, not opiate
 Boxed warning, not black box warning
 US statistics, but statistics in the United States
 Use “radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer”, not “131i-refractory” or
“iodine-resistant”
 mL, not ml
 µL, not mm3 (obtain the µ by pressing option+m)
 Half-life should be written as t½ (subscript with no space)
 mut/Mb for mutations per megabase (a measure of tumor mutational burden)
 Patients in trials, not on trials
 M0/M1 CRPC vs nmCRPC/mCRPC: using the M0/M1 terminology is slightly clearer if you
are choosing between abbreviations, but it’s fine to use whichever terminology is more
prominently included in a Power Point or other document; just be consistent throughout the
presentation/document in terms of which terminology you are using. Also note that there is a
space after M0 or M1
 Radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer”, not “131i-refractory” or “iodine-
resistant”
 The non-possessive form of eponyms is preferred: non-Hodgkin lymphoma instead of non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
 Only include one space after a period at the end of a sentence
 Use plural verbs with “data,” eg, the data show, not the data shows
 Avoid describing persons as victims or with other emotional terms that suggest helplessness
(afflicted with, suffering from, stricken with, maimed)
o “Patients experiencing cancer pain,” not “patients suffering from cancer pain”
 No periods in eg, ie, or etc

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 13 of 14

 Initial cap formal job titles/academic ranks

o eg, “Lorelei Mucci, MPH, ScD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health”
o Don’t capitalize nonspecific titles
 eg, “Mark Preston, MD, MPH, a urologic surgeon at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital” versus “Mark Preston, MD, MPH, Head of Urologic Surgery at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital”
o Include a comma after a degree:
 “John Smith, MD, is an oncologist at Smith University Hospital.”

V. MISCELLANEOUS STYLE RULES

 Use an oxford comma with “and” but not with “&”

 Cap all letters in gene names but not in the names of the proteins they code for
 No periods in ie and eg; include a comma after these abbreviations
 Do not hyphenate gene names
 Do not italicize mutations or genes
 Leave a space before and after “+” in text descriptions
 Use brackets inside of parentheses
 “Compared with” is used when the comparison includes multiple attributes and goes into
further analysis, “compared to” is used for a single attribute with no further analysis (when in
doubt, use “compared with”)
 Hyphens:
o When in doubt, leave the hyphen out!
 Ie, leave it out when you have a grammatically correct option of doing so (eg,
no hyphen in “pretreatment,” “anticancer,” “antitumor,” etc)
o In cases such as titles where text is in initial caps, initial cap both parts of hyphenated
words (“Co-Provided,” not “Co-provided”)
 Use ® or TM on first mention only
 Use an en dash when abbreviating “-negative” (eg, HER2–, not HER2-)

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 Editorial Style Guide (Abbreviated) | Page 14 of 14

VI. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR SYMBOLS

Use Option key plus:

 M for µ symbol
 R for ® symbol (remember to superscript)
 2 for ™ symbol
 G for ©
 > for ≥
 < for ≤
 Shift + for ±
 Shift for en dash –
 Shift – for em dash —

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