One of the Duke scientists who collaborated with Dr. Anil Potti on cancer research has requested a retraction of the work in a major scientific journal - a significant blow to both Duke and its lab.

Joseph Nevins, a professor and director of Duke's Center for Applied Genomics and Technology, sent a letter to the editors of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a leading publisher of scientific findings in cancer research, calling for a full retraction of work he and Potti submitted in 2007.

Efforts to reach the journal editors are underway.

The work, which claims to establish a genetic basis for predicting which cancer patients will respond best to different treatments, has been questioned for at least a year, when scientists elsewhere tried to reproduce it and could not. In addition, the other scientists found numerous errors, requiring published corrections.

Read the complete story at newsobserver.com