A former leading Australian researcher is accused of never performing experiments used in an important cancer study.
The Journal of Clinical Oncology last week published a retraction on its website over the 2016 study, led by Professor Mark Smyth.
"Due to the lack of supporting information in the animal database records, the investigation committee concluded that on the balance of probabilities, it is unlikely that the experiments were actually performed," the notice said.
The study focused on the case of a 39-year-old woman who had melanoma that had aggressively spread to her bones.
She was treated with ipilimumab and denosumab, rendering her free of cancer and pain.
The study claimed they used the same antibodies in mice with melanoma and had similar results.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Prof Smyth was working for the Brisbane-based Queensland Institute of Medical Research, now known as QIMR Berghofer, at the time the article was published.
Prior to that he worked for Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for 13 years, between 2000 and 2013, as program head of the Cancer Immunology Program.
While Prof Smyth hasn't worked for Peter Mac for more than 10 years, a spokesman for the hospital confirmed it had notified the journal of concerns about his contribution to the paper.
"We support their decision to retract this paper," the spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
"Peter Mac has strict protocols in place to ensure our research program operates to the highest standards of integrity and governance. This includes mandatory research integrity training programs and the use of an electronic lab notebook system to track lab projects in real time."
Last week's retraction is not the first time Prof Smyth's methods have come into question.
In a separate incident, concerns about Prof Smyth's conduct were first raised in September 2020, an independent investigation began and he was stood down from QIMR Berghofer.
QIMR then commissioned the independent Lander review, helmed by retired Federal Court judge Bruce Lander KC.
Following the release of the review in May this year, QIMR said in a statement it had since undergone comprehensive reforms.
It said that while findings showed it did not know about Prof Smyth's conduct during his employment from 2013 until he was stood down in 2020, it acknowledged it ought to have known.
Mr Lander said he thought a number of people suspected Prof Smyth fabricated data at QIMR Berghofer, partly because he could not have spent enough time in the animal lab to carry out the experiments.
Prof Smyth has never publicly responded to the allegations.
