February 10, 2008
Mrs. Robin Cassady-Cain
Assistant Editor
BMC -series Journals
Bio Med Central
Middlesex House
34-42 Cleveland Street
London W1T 4LB
Dear Mrs. Cassady-Cain
We are very thankful to the editorial board for their valuable comments. We have made
every possible effort to include all revisions as suggested. We strongly agree with the
suggestion of editorial board regarding this manuscript that it would be much better
suited to the scope of, BMC Medical Genetics. Since, it is a hospital-based case-control
study for the genetics of thyroid cancer, and is clearly a medical study, and would reach a
more specific audience at BMC Medical Genetics. We would be more than happy to have
our manuscript transferred to this journal for consideration. We have re-formatted the
manuscript accordingly for BMC Medical Genetics. Regarding the other suggestions, we
address below the specific issues raised and the changes made in the manuscript for your
consideration point by point.
EDITORIAL COMMENTS:
1) Could you please expand your methods section. At the moment, they are too
brief, and there is no description of your sample group. Please carefully describe
your patients and controls and exactly how they are matched, since you've reported
it as a case-control study.
Editor’s worthy comments are well taken and all effort has been made to expand the
methodology section, information has been incorporated regarding the samples and
control selection. The amendments can be seen highlighted in red color font throughout
in the revised manuscript.
2)
Please
include
your
ethics/consent
as
outlined
below:
Ethics - Experimental research that is reported in the manuscript must have been
performed with the approval of an appropriate ethics committee. Research carried
out on humans must be in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration
(http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm), and any experimental research on animals
must follow internationally recognized guidelines. A statement to this effect must
appear in the Methods section of the manuscript, including the name of the body
which gave approval, with a reference number where appropriate.
Experimental research that is reported in this manuscript has been performed with the
approval of Institutional Review Board and ethics committee of King Faisal Specialist
Hospital, in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration. To clarify this fact the following
statement has been incorporated in the Methods section (page 8, para 1, lines 5-7). “The
Institutional Review Board of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
approved the study in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.”
In summary, in the revised manuscript, we have addressed all issues raised by the
Medical Editor. We hope that you will now find the revised manuscript acceptable for
publication in BMC Medical Genetics.
Sincerely,
Khawla Al-Kuraya, MD, FCAP
Research Centre at KFNCCC&R
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
MBC 98-16, P.O. Box 3354
Riyadh 11211
Saudi Arabia
Telephone: +966-1-2055165 to 67
Fax: +966-1-2055170
Email: kkuraya@kfshrc.edu.sa