Oncol Rep 40: [Related article:] 2067–2078, 2018; DOI:
10.3892/or.2018.6636
Following the publication of the above article, a
concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that there were
potential anomalies associated with the colony formation assay data
shown in Fig. 5H on p. 2076; essentially, concerning the SW620 data
(bottom row), and comparing the first and third images from the
left, groupings of cells appeared to be markedly similar in terms
of their positioning. Patternings of subgroups of cells within the
images were very similar, with cells occupying matching positions
in the images, to the extent that it was difficult to conceive of
the similarities as being coincidental. This phenomenon was also
noted to apply to the equivalent images (bottom row, first and
third images from the left) for the SW620 data in Fig. 4D.
After having conducted an internal investigation of
the data in this paper, the Editor of Oncology Reports has
judged that the potentially anomalous presentation of the
strikingly similar groupings of cells in Figs. 4D and 5H was too
extensive that these features could have been easily attributed to
pure coincidence. Therefore, the Editor has decided that this
article should be retracted from the publication on the grounds of
an overall lack of confidence in the 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 sincerely
apologizes to the readership for any incovenience caused, and we
thank the reader for bringing this matter to our attention.
