The cancer journal, Tumor Biology, has uncovered 107 papers that had undergone a fake peer review process and retracted all of them. This retraction is the largest yet by a single journal and affects more than 500 authors, largely Chinese clinicians. Fake peer review is an example of scientific misconduct and exploits the fact that editors often need help finding reviewers. When an editor requests that an author suggest reviewers for their manuscript, the author would suggest someone whom they know will give a favorable review, such as a colleague or a graduate student they supervise. Alternatively, the author might suggest actual experts in the field but supply a fake email address that they control. The invitation to review the article goes to this email address, allowing them to review their own paper in the name of a scientific expert. The glowing review is submitted to the journal and the editor thinks that the person who conducted the peer review is none the wiser. Up until the end of 2016, Springer published Tumor Biology but as of January 2017, SAGE is the new publisher.
