HHS Disciplines Data Manager for Scientific Misconduct in NSABP Trials

WASHINGTON—A data manager has been disciplined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for falsifying data on three patients involved in studies conducted by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP). The data problems were discovered in 1996 by NSABP as part of its quality assurance audits.

In a final report, HHS’ Office of Research Integrity (ORI) found that Thomas Philpot, RN, engaged in scientific misconduct by intentionally falsifying or fabricating follow-up data on seven reports involving three patients in three separate NSABP studies: B-09, B-12, and B-22. The misconduct occurred while he was NSABP data manager at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center and MacNeal Cancer Center, which was then affiliated with Northwestern University.

“The fabricated data, involving as it did just one patient on each trial, will not affect these trial results,” said Richard Ungerleider, MD, chief of the NCI’s Clinical Investigations Branch.

Mr. Philpot is prohibited from serving in any advisory capacity to the Public Health Service for 3 years; any research project that intends to use his services during that period must submit a plan for the supervision of his work.