Many scientists contend that Fisher was wrongly accused of misconduct and should not have been subjected to a government investigation. Many believe that the case might be a wake-up call, signaling that the system of investigating misconduct charges is flawed and may be fostering a distrust of science among the public. He had been in charge of the project since 1967. One study, which involved more than 480 sites, focused on a breast-sparing surgery called lumpectomy. It showed that the procedure, when combined with radiation therapy, was just as effective in treating many women with early-stage breast cancer as totally removing the breast.
Lumpectomy entails removing only the cancerous tumor and surrounding lump of breast tissue.
Under the increased media and congressional pressure, NCI took official action. The institute removed Fisher as head of the project. NCI did this despite subsequent reanalysis of the data by both Fisher and NCI statisticians that showed the falsified information didn't change the study's original conclusions. The institute asked ORI to investigate potential misconduct by Fisher for knowingly using data on ineligible patients in publications and then not acting swiftly enough to publish a corrected analysis of the revised data. The ORI investigation lasted two years and nine months.