The editorial board of the journal «Clinical Oncology» adheres to the international standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the retraction of publications. The purpose of retraction is to correct the scientific record and ensure the integrity of published materials, and to safeguard the quality of content; it is not intended to penalise authors.
Grounds for retraction
An article may be retracted in the event of established plagiarism or unauthorised borrowing; significant errors that render the research results incorrect; duplicate publication without proper citation; falsification or manipulation of data; undisclosed conflicts of interest that influence the interpretation of results; or serious breaches of ethical standards during the conduct of the research.
Initiation and Review
A retraction may be initiated by any interested party — authors, readers or the editorial board — by submitting a written request accompanied by a justification and supporting evidence. The editor-in-chief reviews the request within 7 days and, if necessary, appoints a committee. Authors are given the opportunity to provide an explanation. A decision is made within 30 days.
The committee’s decision
Following its review, the committee may reject the retraction request, suggest that the authors publish a correction, or recommend the full retraction of the article.
Retraction Procedure
A retracted article is marked in all versions of the journal and retained in the archive with a corresponding note. A retraction notice is published, stating the bibliographic details of the original article, a detailed explanation of the reasons, and the date on which the decision takes effect. This information is published in the next issue of the journal. The editorial board forwards the information to scientometric databases, libraries and repositories for indexing updates.
Authors’ rights
Authors are entitled to receive a detailed explanation of the decision, to lodge an appeal with the editor-in-chief within 14 days, and to publish a response to the retraction decision.
