Int J Mol Med 43: [Related article:] 1817-1829, 2019; DOI:
10.3892/ijmm.2019.4107
Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn
to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that certain of the
western blot data shown in Fig. 8A and two panels of the Transwell
assay data shown in Fig. 5B were strikingly similar to data that
subsequently appeared in a pair of other publications. In addition,
in Fig. 1C, the data panels shown for the KYSE150 and EC9706 cell
lines, and also for the ECA-109 and HET-1A cell lines, were found
to be overlapping, such that data which were intended to have shown
the results from four cell lines appeared to have been derived from
only two cell lines; in Fig. 2E, the same image was apparently
included for the 'Control' colony formation assay experiments for
the two different cell lines investigated (ECA-109 and KYSE150);
and possible anomalies were identified with the western blot data
in Fig. 3C.
After having performed an independent review of the
data in the Editorial Office, the Editor of International
Journal of Molecular Medicine has decided that this paper
should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of
confidence in the presented data. The authors were asked for an
explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office
did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership
for any inconvenience caused.
