Jon Sudbø

Jon Sudbø (born May 3, 1961) is a dentist and formerly a consultant oncologist and medical researcher at The Radium Hospital in Oslo, Norway. Having earlier been licenced as a dentist and a physician, he earned a doctorate (dr. med) in 2001. Until February 2006 he was an associate Professor at the University of Oslo. A research fabrication scandal surfaced in 2006; as a result of this his license to practice medicine and dentistry were revoked and the faculty board at the faculty of medicine at the University of Oslo decided to revoke his doctorate. [Cite news
url = http://www.aftenposten.no/helse/article1541181.ece
title = Ferdig som lege
last = Hafstad
first = Anne
coauthors = Ingeborg Moe
publisher = Aftenposten
date = 2006-11-22
language = Norwegian] [Cite news
url = http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article1575472.ece
title = Mister doktorgraden
publisher = Norsk Telegrambyrå via Aftenposten
date = 2006-12-19
language = Norwegian] Recently he gained a limited authorization to work as a dentist, and is currently working in Seljord, Telemark.

candal

In January 2006 it was revealed that his October 2005 fast track submission to "The Lancet" was based upon fraudulent patient data. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fraud charges against Norwegian researcher stoke confusion over painkillers |url= |quote=Fraud accusations against a Norwegian researcher have muddied the question of whether popular over-the-counter pain relievers fight cancer or harm the heart. Norway's Comprehensive Cancer Center said over the weekend that one of its researchers admitted fabricating data used in a study that said common pain relievers, including ibuprofen (sold as Motrin and Advil) and naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), lowered the risk of oral cancer but heightened the risk of heart problems.... |publisher=Associated Press |date=January 17, 2006 |accessdate=2008-03-26 ] The article had suggested that non-COX2-NSAIDs like ibuprofen diminish the risk of oral cancer in smokers. [Cite journal
title = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of oral cancer: a nested case-control study
author = Jon Sudbø, J.J. Lee, S.M. Lippman, J. Mork, S. Sagen, N. Flatner, A. Ristimaki, A. Sudbø, L. Mao, X. Zhou, W. Kildal, J.F. Evensen, A. Reith, A.J. Dannenberg
journal = The Lancet
year = 2005
month = October
volume = 366
issue = 9494
pages = 1359–1366
pmid = 16226613
doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67488-0Cite journal
url = http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606681130/fulltext
title = Retraction — Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of oral cancer: a nested case-control study
journal = The Lancet
author = R. Horton
year = 2006
month = February
volume = 367
issue = 9508
pages = 382
pmid = 16458751] However, it turned out that the whole patient material was fictional.The Norwegian newspaper "Dagbladet" reported that of the 908 subjects in the Lancet study 250 had the same birthday. [Cite news
publisher = BBC News
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4617372.stm
title = Cancer study patients 'made up'
date = 2006-01-16]

Sudbø has later acknowledged that he has used fictional data in at least two morepapers, published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" and the "Journal of Clinical Oncology".

An independent Commission of Inquiry led by Swedish Professor Anders Ekbom, that also included a member from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, was set up by Rikshospitalet and the University of Oslo to discern the details of the fraud. They were also to try to identify the role of the co-authors, which included, among others, Jon Sudbø's brother, wife and Andrew J. Dannenberg, who was listed as the senior author on the article.

In May 2006, Norwegian and Swedish media reported that the committee was investigating some 60 scientists from 6 countries, and a total of 38 articles. [Cite news
first = Staffan
last = Kihlström
url = http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=597&a=542859
title = 60 forskare granskas efter fuskskandal
language = Swedish
publisher = Dagens Nyheter
date = 2006-05-06]

The commission reported on 30 June 2006 [http://www.rikshospitalet.no/view/readavdi.asp?nPubID=6628&department=English] . The commission deemed much of Sudbø's work invalid because of manipulation and fabrication of raw data: of the 38 articles he had published since 1993, 15 were condemned as fraudulent, including his doctoral dissertation. [Cite news
url = http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_13082567.asp
title = Norskt forskarfusk allvarligare än väntat
date = 2006-07-01
publisher = Svenska Dagbladet
language = Swedish
last = Atterstam
first = Inger] Because of this, the dissertation and the other fraudulent articles will be rescinded. The commission also criticised the co-authors of Sudbø's papers. Professor Anders Ekbom, the Chair of the Commission, said: "One explanation of this catastrophe was that Sudbø was a lone wolf. Few or anyone had insight into his work". However, the commission found no evidence that any of his co-authors had taken part in the fraud or otherwise been party to the deceit (although Sudbø's supervisor accepted criticism for lack of vigilance and follow-up).

In November 2006 his authorization as a physician and a dentist was revoked by the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision.

Effects of fraud

Rikshospitalet and the University were both criticized for "a lack of preliminary control and organization with a view to the researcher's [Sudbø's] PhD project". The hospital was also criticized for "a lack of training and consciousness-raising in respect of the researcher and other employees with a view to the rules for handling patient material, preliminary assessments of research projects and authorship" and for "a lack of leadership and routines designed to expose and deal with non-conformance with its rules of procedure".

The fraud may also have had international effects. [Cite news
last = Hafstad
first = Anne
coauthors = Jonathan Tisdall
url = http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1373320.ece
title = Cheating has international impact
publisher = Aftenposten
date = 2006-06-30] The commission could not rule out that Sudbø's false conclusions could have had an impact on cancer patients around the world, because his findings were used by other scientists and incorporated into cancer treatments, although Sudbø's solicitor Erling O. Lyngtveit had said on behalf of his client that none of the fraudulent articles had had any consequences for patients [http://depesjer.no/saker/sudb%C3%B8-case-co-author-responsibilities-disregarded/] . Norway's scientific reputation could also be damaged by the affair, and "massive lawsuits" may be imminent from the national and international organisations that funded Sudbø's fraudulent papers.

According to the Norwegian news website "Depesjer" ("Dispatches"), scientific experts they consulted felt that Sudbø's co-authors were "severely exploited", but also that closer observations of the Vancouver guidelines and other rules by co-authors would "hamper future attempts at publishing fabricated material" [http://depesjer.no/nyheter/aktualitet/medisin/sudboe_case_co_author_responsibilities_disregarded/] . Dr. Atle Klovning, a leading European authority on evidence-based medicine, said in the article that Sudbø's co-authors had probably not lived up to their responsibilities according to the Vancouver rules.

See also

* Scientific misconduct, including a list of alleged science scandals.

External links

* Cite journal
url = http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606681130/fulltext
title = Retraction — Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of oral cancer: a nested case-control study
journal = The Lancet
author = Richard Horton
year = 2006
month = February
volume = 367
issue = 9508
pages = 382
pmid = 16458751
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15070790&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum "The influence of resection and aneuploidy on mortality in oral leukoplakia"] en icon
* [http://www7.nrk.no/nrkplayer/default.aspx?klipp_id=171701 Exclusive radio interview with Jon Sudbø from NRK P2, June 2006] no icon
* [http://www.rikshospitalet.no/content/res_bibl/6633.pdf Summary of the Commission of Inquiry's report] (.pdf format) en icon
* [http://www.rikshospitalet.no/content/res_bibl/6621.pdf The complete report] (.pdf format) no icon
* [http://www.helsetilsynet.no/templates/ArticleWithLinks____8701.aspx Case involving scientific fraud 2005-2006 - article with links to the decision of the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision, and reports concerning the case] en icon

Notes