The journal of the National Academy of Sciences of Estados Unidos has retracted a study led by Mariano Barbacid that had generated great expectation by managing to eliminate pancreatic tumors in mice through an innovative triple therapy. The decision does not respond to errors in the scientific results, but to the omission of a conflict of interest relevant at the time of publication.
According to what the journal 'PNAS' has detailed, several authors of the work, including Barbacid, maintained financial interests in the company Vega Oncotargets, a link that was not declared in the article. This type of omission contravenes editorial norms, which demand total transparency to guarantee the objectivity of the investigations.
The study, publicly presented months ago, showed especially promising results in experimental models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common and aggressive type of this disease. The therapeutic strategy combined three approaches aimed at blocking key mechanisms of tumor growth, which allowed observing a significant and sustained regression of tumors in the animals.
Specifically, the triple therapy acted on the KRAS mutation, considered the initial driver of this cancer, and on the EGFR and STAT3 proteins, involved in the proliferation and survival of tumor cells. Furthermore, the trials did not show relevant toxicities in animal models, which reinforced the potential of this approach for future clinical developments.
Despite these encouraging results, the lack of transparency in the declaration of interests has led to the withdrawal of the article, underscoring the importance of ethical standards in scientific research. The case highlights how even promising advances can be questioned when the integrity standards governing academic publication are not met.
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