Study can’t confirm lab results for many cancer experiments

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

An eight-year project to carefully repeat early but influential lab experiments in cancer research has reached a conclusion. About half the scientific claims didn’t hold up. The Reproducibility Project reported its results Tuesday. The team repeated 50 experiments from cancer biology papers published from 2010 to 2012 in major journals. They recreated experiments with mice and test tubes, sticking as close to original protocols as possible. Yet, overall, 54% of the original findings failed to measure up to their tests. The researchers say their work reflects on shortcomings early in the scientific process, not with established treatments, which are more rigorously tested.