A new editorial has just been published in ecancermedicalscience which aims to explain the value that case reports bring to medical progress and debunk some of the myths that surround them.

Dr Priya Ranganathan and co-authors describe the benefits that a well-written case report can bring to the literature and provides pointers on how to improve their educational value.  The authors report on the usual reasons for rejection of submitted case reports (lack of originality, use of scientifically or ethically unacceptable methods or wrong choice of journal) and add that the most common reason a case report is rejected is the misconception of authors that the ‘rarity’ of an occurrence warrants reporting.  This is not enough - the report has to carry a clear message which should have the potential to translate into further definitive research.

The authors end with the message that, although case reports cannot compete with clinical trials or systematic reviews in the pyramid of evidence-based medicine, they contribute to science in their own way and have an important place in biomedical literature.

Read the editorial for free here.  If you'd like to submit a case report to ecancermedicalscience, please read our Author Guidelines.