Breaking News: Concerns Raised Over Data Integrity in Lung Cancer Study Highlighting Potential Drug Combination
A recent Nature medicine study suggesting a rationale for concurrently targeting IGF-1R and ALK in ALK fusion-positive lung cancer is now subject to an Editorial Expression of Concern due to concerns regarding data integrity. The study, originally published online February 27, 2023, investigated potential synergistic effects of combining inhibitors targeting both pathways in preclinical models and patient-derived xenografts.
The Expression of Concern, published November 27, 2023, stems from an examination initiated after allegations were brought to the journal’s attention. While the core conclusions of the study may remain valid, the journal has identified concerns regarding the reproducibility of certain experiments and the presentation of data. Specifically, questions have been raised about Western blot data and image manipulation.
The original research involved contributions from multiple institutions across the United States, Germany, and Australia. Key researchers involved in the study include Zhao chen and Kwok-Kin wong (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA); Paul K. Paik and Ronglai Shen (Memorial sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA); Sascha Ansén, Marc Bos, Jürgen Wolf & Masyar Gardizi (University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany); Sven Perner (Institute of pathology, Center of Integrated Oncology Köln-Bonn, University Hospital of Bonn, bonn, Germany); Michael Brockman (Hospital Merheim, Cologne, Germany); Gavin M. Wright (University of Melbourne, St.Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia); Benjamin Solomon (Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Australia); Prudence A. Russell (St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia); Toni-Maree Rogers (Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia); Rudy Tieu & Elisa de Stanchina (memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA); Qingguo Wang & Zhongming Zhao (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA); and David H. Johnson (UT Southwestern School of Medicine,Dallas,Texas,USA).
ALK fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents approximately 2-5% of all NSCLC cases and is typically treated with ALK inhibitors. However, resistance to these therapies frequently develops, prompting research into choice or combination strategies. The initial study aimed to address this challenge by exploring the role of the IGF-1R pathway, which has been implicated in resistance mechanisms.
Nature Medicine is continuing its investigation and will provide updates as they become available. The journal emphasizes that the Expression of Concern is not a definitive judgment of scientific misconduct but rather a statement of serious concerns that require further scrutiny.
