|
|
International - Misconduct Cases
South African University Finds Research Misconduct
Volume 8, No. 3, June 2000
South Africa joined the growing list of nations that have investigated
allegations of scientific misconduct earlier this year when a researcher
was accused of falsifying a study of an aggressive treatment for
advanced breast cancer involving ultrahigh doses of chemotherapy
followed by a bone marrow transplant.
The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg fired Professor
Werner Bezwoda, chairman, department of oncology and hematology,
following a 6-week probe that concluded that he misrepresented his
findings and had failed to obtain approval for the trial before
proceeding, according to press reports.
The misconduct was discovered when a U.S. delegation of researchers
was sent to South Africa to assess Bezwoda's techniques in preparation
for replicating his work because he had reported positive results
for the high dose treatment while two large U.S. trials found no
benefit. The researchers were only able to find records for 50 of
the 150 subjects, and those records did not support the reported
results, according to press reports.
|
Assurance
