A prominent cancer research lab is up to three retractions and six corrections for "highly similar" images in papers published between 2018 and 2022. The first retracted paper, on chronic nicotine exposure and metastatic lung cancer, was published in Oncogene in 2022. The authors retracted it in January for "highly similar ex vivo brain images", which the authors said was a result of "mismanaged" data, according to the notice.

The same authors agreed to retract a 2021 paper in Nature Communications suggesting nicotine promotes the spread of breast cancer. The May 2025 notice also cited mismanaged data and similar images in the work.

The group also lost a third paper in May, 2025 this one in Breast Cancer Research, for "highly similar images". All the authors who responded to the journal disagreed with the retraction, although they admitted the images were "incorrect", the notice states.

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2025/07/15/wake-forest-cancer-lab-blames-honest-mistakes-for-retractions/#more-132325

Another high-profile case has interested scientists. Read now