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Int J Oncol 53: [Related article:] 2789–2799, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2018.4562

Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to our attention that Fig. 1C contained an important flaw. The Figure shows a western blot for LCN2, DR4, DR5, and actin, and it was noted that the identical bands shown for actin were also featured in a paper by the same authors published in 2017 [Lipocalin 2 negatively regulates cell proliferation and epithelial to mesenchymal transition through changing metabolic gene expression in colorectal cancer. Kim SL, Lee ST, Min IS, Park YR, Lee JH, Kim DG and Kim SW: Cancer Sci 108: 2176-2186, 2017], except that the lanes for the cell lines HCT116 and SW620 were depicted the other way around in the International Journal of Oncology article.

Figure 1 LCN2 and DR5 exhibit a negative association in CRC tissues from patients and CRC cells. (A) The mRNA levels of DR4/5 and LCN2 were determined by RT-qPCR in 71 CRC tissues. The samples were then divided into 2 groups according to the level of DR5 expression (high or low) and according to the mean value of LCN2, LCN2-low or LCN2-high. (B) The association between LCN2 and DR5 in human CRC specimens was repre- sented by the percentage of cases according to the classification of the mean value of LCN2 and DR5. (C) Protein level of DR4/5 and LCN2 determined by western blot analysis in human CRC cell lines. *P<0.05 and ***P<0.0001. LCN2, lipocalin 2; DR, death receptor; CRC, colorectal cancer.

Upon investigating the matter with the authors, they were able to confirm that the lanes were labelled incorrectly in the Figure itself; moreover, the incorrect control bands were included with the Figure. The corrected version of Fig. 1 is shown opposite, including the correct control data for Fig. 1C. This error did not have an impact on the overall meaning of the paper, or on the reported conclusions of this study. The authors regret that this error was introduced into the printed version of the paper, and apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused.