A group of researchers from Mexico has been forced to retract their July 2012 paper in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology*Physics after a reader noticed cracks in the data that proved to be signs of fatal instability. Here’s the retraction notice for the article, titled, “Randomized Clinical Trial to Assess the Efficacy of … Continue reading “Extensive” errors force retraction of lymphoma radiation paper
The Circulation Journal, the official organ of the Japanese Circulation Society, is retracting two papers by Hiroaki Matsubara, lead researcher on the Kyoto Heart Study, for unreliable findings. Matsubara’s institution, Kyoto Prefectural University, confirmed to us last March that it was investigating the prominent cardiologist. The work of Matsubara came into question last year when … Continue reading Journal retracts two papers by Japanese cardiologist under investigation
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, or JACC, has issued expressions of concern for three papers by Don Poldermans, the Dutch cardiologist who was fired earlier this year amid allegations of misconduct. Cardiobrief’s Larry Husten had the story first. The, um, heart of the matter is that neither the investigators at Erasmus Medical … Continue reading Concern — in triplicate — arrives for Poldermans papers
In October, we noted the apparent record holder for longest time between publication and retraction: 25 years, for “Retention of the 4-pro-R hydrogen atom of mevalonate at C-2,2′ of bacterioruberin in Halobacterium halobium,” published in the Biochemical Journal in 1980 and retracted in 2005. (Although an author requested that another 52-year-old paper be retracted, it … Continue reading A new record: A retraction, 27 years later
The Journal of Vascular Surgery is retracting — with vigor — a paper it published online in March after discovering that the authors had published essentially the same article for the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology some months earlier. Both papers are titled “Randomized controlled trial comparing treatment outcome of two compression … Continue reading Double bind: Duplication of bandaging paper leads to retraction
A group of Chinese authors studying the Shang Ring, “a device that allows professionals to perform hundreds rather than tens of” circumcisions in a day, as had to retract the paper after editors apparently figured out they had changed some dates in the paper so it wouldn’t look as though they were trying to publish … Continue reading Paper cuts? Duplication, data manipulation force retraction of study of circumcision by ring device
In June of last year, the Archives of Internal Medicine yanked a paper just 12 minutes before it was scheduled to publish, to …allow time for review and statistical analysis of additional data not included in the original paper that the authors provided less than 24 hours before posting… A year later, the lead author … Continue reading Transcendental meditation paper pulled minutes before publication appears in a new journal
A group of Dutch researchers has retracted a paper they published in March after apparently learning that they’d bungled their statistical analysis in the study. The article, “Effects of a pre-visit educational website on information recall and needs fulfilment in breast cancer genetic counselling, a randomized controlled trial,” was published in Breast Cancer Research by Akke Albada … Continue reading Intent was there, but not the intention-to-treat analysis: Breast cancer study retracted
PLOS ONE has retracted an article it published earlier this year by a group from Australia who failed to receive adequate ethics approval for their study. The paper, “Late Complications of Clinical Clostridium Histolyticum Collagenase Use in Dupuytren’s Disease,” came from Warren M. Rozen, Yasith Edirisinghe and John Crock (sorry, irony machine not working today). Dupuytren’s causes thickening of the … Continue reading PLoS ONE retracts paper on treatment of tissue disease for lack of ethical approval, erroneous data
Researchers often like to complain that science journalists puff up their results to sell newspapers. And there’s no question that reporters make missteps. But a commentary published today in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine brings to mind the old saying about those who live in glass houses not casting the first stones. In … Continue reading Researchers: Stop the spin and boasting in articles, say other researchers