DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for acanthoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 2-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleAcanthoma maps to a 2-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for acanthoma is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
HRas proto-oncogene, GTPase (HRAS) — HRAS is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet gnpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8ELT · 1.66 Å · ligand PHOSPHOAMINOPHOSPHONIC ACID-GUANYLATE ESTER (GNP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2014 case report describes a single patient with clear cell acanthoma treated with topical calcipotriol. The lesion showed complete regression after two months, and no relapse was observed one year after treatment ended. The authors propose an inflammatory aetiology for clear cell acanthoma and note that dermoscopy was used to monitor changes. They state that further observations are needed to confirm this approach.
A 2010 case report describes a 74-year-old man with multiple clear cell acanthomas on the lower legs who was treated successfully with cryotherapy. The authors note that fewer than 30 cases of multiple clear cell acanthoma had been reported in the literature at that time. They conclude that cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen remains an important alternative for treating multiple lesions.
A 2008 review states that pale cell acanthoma (a synonym for clear cell acanthoma) is a benign epidermal neoplasm with no tendency to spontaneous remission or malignant change. It records nine typical cases and tabulates reported cases diagrammatically. The recommended treatment is excision.
No controlled trials exist for any treatment of clear cell acanthoma. The evidence for topical calcipotriol rests on a single patient. Cryotherapy and excision are described in case reports and reviews but have not been tested in prospective studies. What is missing is any randomised trial, any comparison of treatments, any standardised outcome measure, and any understanding of which patients might benefit from non-ablative therapy versus surgery or cryotherapy.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia · 2014 · 16 citations · open access
Topical calcipotriol as a new therapeutic option for the treatment of clear cell acanthoma
AbstractAlthough uncommonly diagnosed, clear cell acanthoma represents an original source of speculative interest for dermatologists. Due to its clinical variability, it is often only recognized accidentally after histology. Dermoscopy has improved the reliability of clinical diagnosis of typical clear cell acanthoma thanks to the vascular pinpoint pattern and desquamative, peripheral collarette. Generally, therapy of clear cell acanthoma is oriented towards ablative solutions, such as surgery or cryotherapy. We propose a conservative therapy, based on the application of topical calcipotriol, which has produced complete regression after 2 months and no relapse one year after the end of treatment. A dermatoscope monitored all changes of clear cell acanthoma, showing its utility not only in diagnosis but also in therapeutic follow-up. This new therapeutic approach should support an inflammatory etiology of clear cell acanthoma, although further observations are needed to confirm this.
Journal of Dermatological Case Reports · 2010 · 13 citations
Multiple eruptive clear cell acanthoma
AbstractBACKGROUND: Clear cell acanthoma is a rare solitary benign epidermal tumor of unknown etiology. The disease arises in the middle-age, with no sex predominance. It appears as a single reddish papule or papule-nodule and a peripheral scaling collarette is characteristic. Although solitary lesions are the rule, less than 30 cases of multiple Clear cell acanthoma have been described in the literature to date. MAIN OBSERVATIONS: We report an unusual case of a healthy 74-year-old male with multiple clear cell acanthoma on the lower extremities treated successfully with cryotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant progress in treatment of clear cell acanthoma, cryotherapy, based on liquid nitrogen, remains an important alternative in treating multiple clear cell acanthomas.
AbstractPale cell acanthoma is a not uncommon benign, chronic, epidermal neoplasm which favors the older age groups and tends to appear as a solitary elevated lesion usually on the lower extremities. The microscopic picture is pathognomonic. There is no tendency to spontaneous remission or to malignant change. Treatment is by excision. Nine typical cases are recorded and the reported ones diagrammatically tabulated.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
DeCure is a research and publication project, not medical advice and not a treatment. "DeCure for X" describes a research goal, not a claim that a cure exists. Backing a cure is a contribution to fund the research — it is not an investment, and confers no yield, royalty, equity or IP ownership. Papers are published open-access by the DeCure.ai DAO.
