Hospital says researcher faked NSAID study in Lancet

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Hospital says researcher faked NSAID study in Lancet



Jan 18, 2006



Gandey

Oslo, Norway - Oslo's Norwegian Radium Hospital says internal

investigations have confirmed that one of its scientists fabricated

data that appeared in the Lancet [1]. Preliminary findings of the

study had been discussed at US Food and Drug Administration coxib

hearings last year, and the subsequent publication in October 2005

alleged that NSAIDs halve oral cancer risk but double cardiovascular

risk, as reported at the time by rheumawire.

" We're now working to uncover all the facts in order to reveal the

extent of the data fraud, " Stein Vaaler, a spokesperson for the

hospital, told reporters. " This situation is very difficult for an

internationally well-known research institute. We deeply apologize to

all our associates affected by this case. "

The study, led by Dr Jon Sudbø, reported that NSAIDs increase

cardiovascular risk, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.70 for

naproxen to 2.86 for ibuprofen. The Norwegian Radium Hospital says it

first became aware of a problem with the results last week when an

external scientist questioned the data.



The peer-review process is good at picking up poorly designed

studies, but it is not designed to pick up fabricated research.





The Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet reports that a number of

statistical improbabilities were found in the dataset. For example,

of the 908 people in the trial, 250 shared the same birthday. The

hospital reports that the anomalies in patient profiles and case

histories went undetected by coauthors, the hospital's control

routines, and the Lancet.

Editor Dr Horton told the BBC he would be speaking to the

coauthors of the study to seek their permission to retract the paper.

He described the fabrication of data as a " terrible personal tragedy "

for Sudbø. But he denied that there is anything wrong with the

process of peer-reviewing contributions to scientific journals.



" The peer-review process is good at picking up poorly designed

studies, but it is not designed to pick up fabricated research, "

Horton said. " Just as in society you cannot always prevent crime, in

science you cannot always prevent fabrication. "

The Norwegian Radium Hospital has established an external

investigating committee headed by Dr Anders Ekbom (Karolinska

Institute, Stockholm, Sweden). Sudbø has reportedly agreed to give

access to all his data material for further investigation. The

committee will also look into the 38 other articles he has published

internationally in the past years. And the group will investigate the

involvement and responsibility of all coauthors.

Sudbø is on sick leave and was not available to comment to rheumawire.

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