HNCBT makes published articles freely available to readers immediately upon publication, without a subscription or access embargo. Authors retain copyright, and articles are published under CC BY 4.0.

Reading and reuse

Readers may access and download published articles without a payment requirement. The CC BY 4.0 license permits sharing and adaptation, including commercial reuse, provided that appropriate credit is given, the license is linked and changes are identified. Reuse must not suggest that the authors or journal endorse an adaptation.

Material credited to a third party may fall outside the article’s license. Users must check the relevant credit line and obtain permission when their intended reuse is not covered. The Copyright & Licensing policy explains these responsibilities.

Author charges and editorial independence

The standard article processing charge is USD 350 for an accepted article. There is no submission or peer-review fee. A publication charge supports the publication process and does not purchase a favorable editorial decision. Fee enquiries and requests for assistance are handled separately from scientific assessment; consult APCs and Waivers & Discounts.

Sharing and responsible access

Authors may share the submitted manuscript, accepted manuscript and published version without an embargo. After publication, repositories and personal or institutional websites should link to the journal’s version of record and include the article’s citation, license and persistent identifier where available.

Open access to an article does not require disclosure of identifiable patient information or research data whose release would breach consent, ethics approval or lawful restrictions. Data access is governed by Research Data & Code.