A major oncology research center in Australia is dealing with a case of scientific misconduct. An internal investigation concluded that a melanoma study conducted at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne described an experiment that was likely never performed. The lead author of the article, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in April 2016, was immunologist Mark Smyth, who worked at the center for 13 years. The study analyzed the case of a 39-year-old woman with melanoma that had metastasized to her bones. She was treated with two types of antibodies, ipilimumab and denosumab, leading to a recovery: the tumors regressed and her bone pain disappeared. To evaluate the effects in detail, the combination of antibodies was given to mice with melanoma and according to the article’s conclusions, it proved to be effective. This animal trial, however, appears to lack supporting information. The article’s retraction notice cites the results of an external investigation that found no correlation between the number of rodents allegedly used in the research and official records of animal use. “On the balance of probabilities, it is unlikely that the experiments were actually performed,” says the notice. While working at the institution in Melbourne, Smyth received almost 17 million Australian dollars in public funding for nine research projects. The oncologist was recently linked to another scandal at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, where he began working after leaving Melbourne, but was fired last year. In April, an investigation concluded that he fabricated research data used to support funding applications and clinical trial protocols. When asked for a comment by The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, Smyth declined.
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