Retracted Article: Angiotensin II receptor antagonist olmesartan and NF-kappaB inhibitor as cytotoxic and apoptotic agents in MCF-7 human cell line

Abstract

We, the Editors and Publisher of Journal of Chemotherapy have retracted the following article: Angiotensin II receptor antagonist olmesartan and NF-kappaB inhibitor as cytotoxic and apoptotic agents in MCF-7 human cell line (2016) Journal of Chemotherapy. 28:4 314-320. DOI: 10.1179/1973947815Y.0000000055 Following publication of the article, concerns were raised that similar findings had been reported in another article by the same authors: Synergistic, cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of olmesartan with NF-κB inhibitor against HeLa human cell line (2015) Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 25:8 614-621. DOI: 10.3109/15376516.2015.1053647 The journal found both articles described a very similar methodology and analysis and reported very similar results and findings. In addition, they shared a high degree of text overlap. It was also found the two articles were submitted within eight days of each other and the authors did not notify the editorial office of the concurrent submission to the other journal. The authors did not respond to our queries and were unable to provide an explanation for the similarities between articles or provide data for the study. Our editorial policies are clear that authors are expected to be transparent about their previously published work or the reuse of their own current material. Considering these findings, the Editor and Publisher requested to retract the article and the authors were notified of this. We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and COPE guidelines. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’.