Reflections on the responsible conduct of cancer research

As one of the leading causes of death worldwide, cancer is widely regarded as the bane of humanity. Driven by the fear associated with this surreptitious killer, public support for cancer research has grown dramatically throughout the last 50 years. A century ago, little was known about this disease. Today, few lives have been untouched by the devastating impacts of cancer. Increasing public support for cancer research has elicited well warranted trepidation about the way it is conducted. Public funds support an increasing share of all cancer research throughout the world. Therefore, cancer researchers spend a growing portion of their time employed, indirectly, by the public. As public servants, however indirect the actual line of accountability may be, it is incumbent upon cancer researchers to ensure the responsible conduct of their research. This should be done in a way that makes their work more transparent and understandable through communications that are accessible to the general public. With the advent of public access to the primary literature documenting cancer research, public awareness has grown regarding the rare but destructive spectre of research misconduct. In response, many public funding agencies have endorsed new policies regarding the responsible conduct of research (RCR). These policies are intended to ensure a culture of ethical practices in research, to safeguard the integrity of the research findings upon which we rely for therapeutic advances in health care, and alleviate public reservations regarding the potential misuse of public funds. As pioneers at the frontier of cancer research, we would be well advised to take a moment of pause to consider the relevance of RCR in cancer research.Across disciplines, responsible conduct in research is simply the practice and reporting of sound, ethical science. It is paramount that biomedical researchers conduct their work truthfully, professionally, and impartially using the best ethical practices. RC