[2] Authors can pay to have their articles released freely online as part of a hybrid open access scheme.

[3] Free or reduced-rate online access is available to educational institutions in low-income countries.

[4][5] The journal was established in 1980 by R. Colin Garner (University of York) and Anthony Dipple (National Cancer Institute).

[4][6] The original scope of Carcinogenesis was defined in the first issue as research relating to "the prevention of cancer in man", and the journal was conceived from the outset as a multidisciplinary journal, with the intention of encouraging the "cross-fertilization of ideas" across the "very broad spectrum of scientific endeavour" of cancer research.

[7] In 2008, the journal added the subtitle "Integrative Cancer Research" to reflect its multidisciplinary scope.