Oncol Lett 14: [Related article:] 673–680, 2017; DOI:
10.3892/ol.2017.6195
Following the publication of this paper, it was
drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that,
regarding the mRNA expression data shown in Fig. 1 on p. 674, the
Mct1 and Scot blots bore a striking similarity to each other,
albeit with vertical and horizontal resizing; furthermore, data in
this figure appeared to be strikingly similar to blots which were
subsequently published in a pair of articles written by members of
the same research group in the journals Oncotarget and
Cancer Science, albeit where the experimental conditions
were reported to be different. In addition, the microscopic data
featured in Fig. 4E on p. 678 were remarkably similar to data that
were included in a paper featuring many of the same authors that
was published during the same year in the journal World Journal
of Gastroenterology, where the experimental conditions were
likewise reported to be different. A subsequent investigation of
the data in this paper revealed that certain of the blots may also
have been internally duplicated within Fig. 5A and C.
Given the identification of the abovementioned cases
of data duplication and re-use across a range of publications, the
Editor of Oncology Letters 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.
