Oncol Rep 30: [Related article:] 745–750, 2013; DOI:
10.3892/or.2013.2519
Following the publication of the above paper, it was
drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the ‘50
µg/ml ELE’ and ‘100 µg/ml ELE’ data panels shown in Fig. 6A were
apparently identical, suggesting that the same data panel had been
inserted twice into this figure to show the results from
differently performed experiments. Moreover, data featured in the
microscopic images in Fig. 2 overlapped with images in a paper that
had been published by the same research group in 2013 in the
journal PLoS One, where the treatment represented was
different (treatment with TGF-β1). Upon performing an independent
analysis of the data in the Editorial Office, it also came to light
that one of the same microscopic images was strikingly similar to a
data panel featured in Fig. 4 in another article written by
different authors at different research institutes that was
published subsequently in the journal Scientific Reports,
albeit the image was featured in colour in that publication,
whereas it had appeared in greyscale in the above paper.
Given the nature of the contentious issues repported
above, the Editor of Oncology Reports 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.
