Mouth cancer data faked, journal says
By Nathan Seppa
A study claiming to find that anti-inflammatory drugs including ibuprofen reduce the risk of mouth cancer in smokers was based on falsified data, according to the medical journal that published the research.
Jon Sudbø of the Norwegian Radium Hospital and the University of Oslo presented the findings last year at a cancer-research meeting in Anaheim, Calif. (SN: 5/7/05, p. 302: Available to subscribers at Anti-inflammatories cut risk of mouth cancer) and in the Oct. 15, 2005 Lancet. Through his lawyer, Sudbø has admitted that he made up the 908 patients cited in the paper. Lancet is seeking a retraction.