Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that several of the protein bands featured in the western blot assay data shown in Fig. 3A‑D on p. 2147 were strikingly similar to other protein bands, both comparing the data within the same gel slices and comparing the data across the four different parts of the figure. In addition, the control blots featured in Fig. 3A, B and D had already appeared in a different form written by (largely) different authors at different research institutes. After having conducted an independent review of the data in this Figure in the Editorial Office, the concerns of the reader were found to be validated. Therefore, since contentious data in the above article had already been published prior to its submission to International Journal of Oncology, and owing to an overall lack of confidence in the presented data, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [International Journal of Oncology 45: 2143‑2152, 2014; DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2596].
Keywords: SIRT1; SREBP-1c; hepatocellular carcinoma; lipid metabolism; microRNA; proliferation.