Int J Mol Med 45: 1685-1696, 2020; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2020.4547

Following the publication of the above paper, it was drawn to the Editors' attention by a concerned reader that certain of the tumour images featured in Fig. 6A were strikingly similar to data appearing in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article were already under consideration for publication prior to its submission to International Journal of Molecular Medicine, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors independently contacted the Editorial Office in the light of the concerns raised by the reader, and requested that the paper be retracted from the Journal on account of their failure to preserve the original raw data. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused.