Oncol Lett 9: [Related article:] 2455–2458, 2015; DOI:
10.3892/ol.2015.3124
Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn
to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that, in Fig. 3,
the cellular images for the “ConN” and “ConB” panels appeared to
show an area of overlap, such that data which were intended to show
the results from differently performed experiments had apparently
been selected from the same original source. In addition,
concerning the western blot data in Figs. 1 and 5, lanes 2–4 of the
GAPDH panel in Fig. 1 looked strikingly similar to lanes 1–3 of the
GAPDH panel of Fig. 5, even though these lanes were indicated to
represent different experiments. Furthermore, an independent
analysis of the data in this paper made by the Editorial Office
showed that certain of the data in Fig. 3 were similar to data
which appeared in a pair of subsequently published articles in
other journals that were written by different authors at different
research institutes.
The authors were contacted by the Editorial Office to
offer an explanation for these apparent anomalies in the
presentation of the data in this paper; however, up to this time,
no response from them has been forthcoming. Owing to the fact that
the Editorial Office has been made aware of potential issues
surrounding the scientific integrity of this paper, we are issuing
an Expression of Concern to notify readers of this potential
problem while the Editorial Office continues to investigate this
matter further.
