# Alert guidelines and trials when a paper they rely on is retracted

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-retraction-propagation/  
OnCo record `idea-tr2-retraction-propagation` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

When a study is retracted, everything built on it should get a warning. Today, retracted cancer papers keep being cited and used for years.

## Summary

Retracted papers continue to be cited, and guidelines or trial protocols that relied on them are rarely revisited. A service that maps retractions and expressions of concern (from Retraction Watch and publishers) onto the citation graph and notifies guideline bodies, trial registries and systematic reviews that cite the retracted work would close a loop that is currently open.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Hypothesis: Within a year of launch, at least 80% of oncology guidelines citing a retracted paper have been notified and at least half have issued an update or statement.
- Rationale: Retraction Watch's database now makes retractions machine-readable; citation graphs from OpenAlex make propagation computable. The missing piece is delivery to the people who act on the evidence.
- Proposed test: Run the service over oncology guidelines from three societies; count notifications and responses.
- Maturity: speculative
- Actor: data

## Sources

- Retraction Watch Database: https://retractionwatch.com/retraction-watch-database-user-guide/

## Connected records

- collections: [ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines & MCBS](https://onco.cc/collections/esmo-guidelines/), [NCCN Guidelines](https://onco.cc/collections/nccn/), [PubMed & Europe PMC](https://onco.cc/collections/pubmed-europepmc/)
- bottlenecks: [Failures are hidden](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-negative-results/), [Preclinical results do not reproduce](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-reproducibility/)
- ideas: [A replication status badge on every cancer paper, visible in PubMed](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-replication-status-badge/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/idea-tr2-retraction-propagation.json