diff --git a/paperprocessor.go b/paperprocessor.go
index 31527b8..f942354 100644
--- a/paperprocessor.go
+++ b/paperprocessor.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
+	"unicode"
 )
 
 // Paper represents a single academic paper
@@ -185,13 +186,24 @@ Abstract: %s`, criteria, paper.Title, paper.Abstract)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid response format")
 	}
 
-	decisionParts := bytes.SplitN(lines[0], []byte(":"), 2)
-	if len(decisionParts) != 2 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid decision format, expected 'DECISION: [VALUE]'")
-	}
-	decision := strings.ToUpper(string(bytes.TrimSpace(decisionParts[1])))
-	if decision != "ACCEPT" && decision != "REJECT" {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid decision value: %s", decision)
+	// Clean and normalize decision
+	rawDecision := string(bytes.TrimSpace(lines[0]))
+
+	// Remove any non-alphabetic characters from start/end
+	cleanDecision := strings.TrimFunc(rawDecision, func(r rune) bool {
+		return !unicode.IsLetter(r)
+	})
+
+	// Normalize case and check for valid decision
+	upperDecision := strings.ToUpper(cleanDecision)
+	var decision string
+	switch {
+	case strings.HasPrefix(upperDecision, "ACCEPT"):
+		decision = "ACCEPT"
+	case strings.HasPrefix(upperDecision, "REJECT"):
+		decision = "REJECT"
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid decision value: %q (cleaned: %q)", rawDecision, cleanDecision)
 	}
 
 	explanation := string(bytes.TrimSpace(bytes.Join(lines[1:], []byte("\n"))))