PubPeer Users Question a Cancer Paper

A 2012 Cancer Cell paper is under investigation after users of the post-publication peer review website raised questions about the validity of Western blot images.

Written byBob Grant
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A radiographic image of glioblastomaWIKIMEDIA, CHRISTARAS AA paper published by Cancer Cell in 2012 is under investigation by the journal after one of its authors posted a message on the post-publication peer review website PubPeer indicating that there was some mistake with one of the Western blot images, according to Retraction Watch. The paper, which reported the relationship between tumor-propagating cells and glioblastomas, included several Western blots, some of which appeared to have duplicated bands, typically a sign of image manipulation.

Last month, an anonymous PubPeer user posted one of the paper’s Western blot images on the site. Study coauthor Angelo Vescovi, a biologist at the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy, responded right away, posting this comment to PubPeer: “The authors at Cancer Cell have been informed of this mishap. There were technical problem with the scanned picture database that led to misclassification of scanned plates images and misassembling and frame duplication, some of which were in fact nonsensical and actually ended up lessening the cogency of our findings.”

“We are aware of the concerns raised regarding the Binda et al. paper published by Cancer Cell in 2012, and they are currently under investigation by the journal,” a Cell Press spokesperson told Retraction Watch. “We do ...

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  • From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.

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