A researcher in the United States discovered that his name had been listed as the author of a scientific article he had never written or submitted. When he asked the journal to remove the paper, the publisher reportedly requested a payment before taking action.
LaertisIkonomou, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo in New York, became aware in September 2025 that his name appeared on a commentary published in the Journal of Carcinogenesis & Mutagenesis. According to correspondence shared by the researcher, he had no involvement in writing or submitting the article.
Ikonomou contacted the journal on September 23, requesting that the article be removed and asking how the submission had been accepted despite the use of a fake email address and incorrect affiliation. The article can be accessed through the journal’s website via its official page.
In response, a representative from the publisher stated that the article could only be withdrawn after payment of a fee. In an email dated October 6, the representative requested confirmation regarding withdrawal charges. When Ikonomou asked for clarification, he was informed that the removal of the article would require a payment of approximately €400. Subsequent correspondence suggested a higher amount, indicating that the article could be removed if €499 were paid.
The journal is published by Walsh Medical Media, which operates dozens of open-access journals across various disciplines. The publisher describes itself as a global open-access platform covering topics ranging from health sciences to engineering and intellectual property.
The Journal of Carcinogenesis & Mutagenesis lists an impact factor on its website, although it does not appear in the Web of Science database maintained by Clarivate. The journal is also not indexed in Scopus, a large citation database managed by Elsevier. However, the journal’s website displays a CiteScore metric, which is a citation indicator developed by Elsevier.
The publication is also listed in Cabells Predatory Reports, a database that tracks journals identified for concerns related to editorial practices, transparency, and peer-review standards.
During the authorship dispute, Ikonomou contacted individuals listed in the journal’s editorial leadership. Rui Amaral Mendes, a researcher affiliated with the University of Porto and Case Western Reserve University, responded that his name had been associated with the journal without his consent. Mendes indicated that he had previously requested the removal of his name from the editorial board but had not received a response.
After several communications regarding the authorship concern, the article was not removed. Instead, the author’s name on the journal website was reportedly changed to Teresa Partmans, who was listed as being affiliated with the Hospital del Mar Research Institute in Barcelona. Public records identifying a researcher by that name at the institute could not be located, and the institute did not respond to requests seeking confirmation.
Ikonomou suggested that the situation could indicate a broader pattern of unauthorized use of researcher identities in questionable publications.
Such cases highlight ongoing concerns in scholarly publishing regarding author identity verification, editorial oversight, and the processes available to correct the scientific record. Many publishers increasingly rely on systems such as ORCID authentication and institutional email verification to reduce the risk of fraudulent submissions and disputed authorship.