Int J Oncol 46: [Related article:] 1461-1472, 2015; DOI:
10.3892/ijo.2015.2878
Following the publication of the above paper, it was
drawn to the Editor's attention by concerned readers that β-actin
bands shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 were strikingly similar, where the
experimental conditions reported in Fig. 4 differed from those in
Figs. 1 and 2; moreover, the Slug protein bands featured in Figs.
4a and 5a were remarkably similar in spite of the different
experimental conditions that were reported in the respective figure
legends, and the shape of the vimentin protein bands in Fig. 5e
bore a strong similarity to the Slug protein bands that were
featured in Fig. 2c, in spite of the bands being of slightly
different sizes and arranged in a different orientation.
Although the possibility of publishing a corrigendum
was considered, software analysis of the highlighted bands
performed independently by the Editorial Office demonstrated that
the bands in question were likely to have been matching bands.
Therefore, given the number of potential concerns that were
identified with the assembly of various of the figures in this
paper, the Editor of International Journal of Oncology has
decided not to proceed with a corrigendum, and has determined that
the paper should instead be retracted from the Journal on account
of an overall lack of confidence in the originally presented data.
The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these
concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a satisfactory
reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any
inconvenience caused.
