In 1981
Emil Frei III proposed that the
American Society of Clinical Oncology should publish an official journal. The first issue was published on January 1, 1983, containing 70 pages of research and an editorial by the then editor-in-chief,
Joseph Bertino. Bertino was succeeded by George P. Canellos in 1987. In 1998, a Spanish language edition of the journal started quarterly publication, followed by a Chinese language edition. Currently there are 10 international editions. Daniel Haller became editor-in-chief in 2001 and during his tenure the journal moved from its publisher
Grune & Stratton to in-house publication by society staff. Stephen A. Cannistra was editor-in-chief from 2011 to 2021. ==Abstracting and indexing==