DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for biphasic synovial sarcoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 11-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleBiphasic synovial sarcoma maps to a 11-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 biphasic synovial sarcoma 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
neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (NTRK3) — NTRK3 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 4-aminophenyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6KZD · 1.708 Å · ligand 3-[2-[6-(4-aminophenyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3-yl]ethynyl]-2-methyl-~{N}-[3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-5-propan-2-yl-phenyl]benzamide (DZ6). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a retrospective analysis of 121 patients with synovial sarcoma treated at two referral centres, the estimated 5-year survival was 60%, 10-year survival 50%, and 15-year survival 45%. Local recurrence occurred in 31% of patients, and 54% developed metastasis, mostly to the lungs. Independent risk factors for tumour-related death were older age, poor histologic differentiation, and larger tumour size. A low-risk group (age under 25, tumour under 5 cm, no poorly differentiated histology) had 88% disease-free survival, whereas a high-risk group (age 25 or older, tumour 5 cm or larger, poorly differentiated histology) had 18% disease-free survival. Local recurrence was associated with a 3.66-fold increased risk of death from disease.
A 2013 case report describes a 32-year-old woman with an unresectable mediastinal synovial sarcoma who received three cycles of ifosfamide and doxorubicin chemotherapy. No response was observed, and the disease progressed four months after the last cycle. The authors note that only four previous reports of primary chemotherapy for unresectable mediastinal synovial sarcoma exist, and none led to complete surgical resection. A 2023 case report of synovial sarcoma of the abdominal wall reiterates that wide surgical excision with negative margins is the mainstay of treatment, and that no standard chemotherapy regimen is established for this rare location.
A 2015 study tested 41 synovial sarcoma specimens for DNA from Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus 8, and human papillomavirus using PCR. No virus-specific DNA was detected for any of these viruses, suggesting they are not involved in the development of synovial sarcoma in this sample.
What remains missing is prospective data to guide treatment for unresectable or high-risk disease, particularly given the failure of ifosfamide-doxorubicin in the reported mediastinal case. No randomised trial has defined optimal chemotherapy or targeted therapy for synovial sarcoma, and patient stratification by the identified risk factors is not yet standardised in clinical practice. Funding for multi-centre trials and reliable biomarkers beyond histology and tumour size is still lacking.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Cancer · 1999 · 294 citations · open access
Synovial sarcoma
AbstractBACKGROUND: Synovial sarcoma, one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas that occur in adolescents and young adults, is generally viewed and treated as a high grade sarcoma. However, the authors' own experience and some previous studies have indicated that it has a wide spectrum of biologic behavior and that low and high risk subgroups of patients with synovial sarcoma can be identified. METHODS: A total of 121 consecutive patients with synovial sarcoma (including 66 males and 55 females ages 9-74 years), treated primarily or secondarily at 2 large referral centers for musculoskeletal tumors, were included in a statistical analysis conducted to identify independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: There were local recurrences in 38 patients (31%), usually after inadequate primary surgery outside the referral centers; 64 patients (54%) developed metastasis, primarily to the lungs. The estimated 5-, 10-, and 15-year survival rates were 60%, 50%, and 45%, respectively (the mean follow-up for surviving patients was 9.8 years, with a range of 1-30 years). In multivariate analysis, independent risk factors for local recurrence included larger tumor size and primary surgical resection outside the referral center. Independent risk factors for metastasis were older patient age, tumor with poor histologic differentiation, and tumor necrosis. For tumor-related death, the independent risk factors were older patient age, tumor with poor histologic differentiation, and larger tumor size. Local recurrence was associated with a 3.66-fold increased risk of tumor-related death. A low risk group (patient age <25 years, tumor size <5 cm, and no histologic evidence of poorly differentiated tumor) with 88% overall disease free survival was identified, as was a high risk group (patient age > or = 25 years, tumor size > or = 5 cm, and poorly differentiated tumor) with 18% overall disease free survival (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The identification of low and high risk synovial sarcoma patients indicates that synovial sarcomas are not uniformly high grade tumors. It also indicates that treatment strategies should be modified for these risk groups. Adequate primary surgery is essential to both local control and outcome for synovial sarcoma patients.
BMC Research Notes · 2013 · 13 citations · open access
Synovial sarcoma presenting with huge mediastinal mass: a case report and review of literature
AbstractBACKGROUND: Synovial sarcoma presenting in the mediastinum is exceedingly rare. Furthermore, data addressing optimal therapy is limited. Herein we present a case where an attempt to downsize the tumor to a resectable state with chemotherapy was employed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 32 year female presented with massive pericardial effusion and unresectable huge mediastinal mass. Computed axial tomography scan - guided biopsy with adjunctive immunostains and molecular studies confirmed a diagnosis of synovial sarcoma. Following three cycles of combination Ifosfamide and doxorubicin chemotherapy, no response was demonstrated. The patient refused further therapy and had progression of her disease 4 months following the last cycle. CONCLUSION: Synovial sarcoma presenting with unresectable mediastinal mass carry a poor prognosis. Up to the best of our knowledge there are only four previous reports where primary chemotherapy was employed, unfortunately; none of these cases had subsequent complete surgical resection. Identification of the best treatment strategy for patients with unresectable disease is warranted. Our case can be of benefit to medical oncologists and thoracic surgeons who might be faced with this unique and exceedingly rare clinical scenario.
International Journal of Surgery Case Reports · 2023 · 3 citations · open access
Synovial sarcoma of the abdominal wall: A case report for a rare entity with a challenging treatment
AbstractINTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Synovial Sarcoma is an intriguing disease, it represents a distinctive subtype of soft tissue sarcoma that does not exceed 10 % of all STS. This tumor can arise from the abdominal wall in very rare cases. Due to its unique presentation (occurring at a young age, various anatomical locations, and slow evolutionary kinetics), diagnosis can be challenging. The mainstay of treatment remains wide surgical excision with negative margins. CASE PRESENTATION: We herein report a challenging diagnosis of synovial sarcoma with exceptional location, presented as a slowly evolving abdominal mass of the right iliac fossa. Soft tissue MRI confirmed the presence of a sub cutaneous mass without signs of local invasion. Surgical management as indicated. Anatomopathological findings were in favor of a synovial sarcoma of the abdominal wall. The patient was discharged. No complication was observed after 3 months follow up. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Patients with synovial sarcoma of the abdominal wall is a very rare entity, therefor positive pre operative diagnosis is hard to achieve, because of the lack of specific clinical and radiological signs. No standard treatment is advised, beside surgical management wish is the main course of management. CONCLUSION: Synovial sarcoma is an infrequent pathology, with no specific signs in both clinical and radiological findings. The main course of management is surgery with healthy resection margins. Long term follow up is advised because of the high risk of recurrence.
Clinical Sarcoma Research · 2015 · 3 citations · open access
Do human tumor-associated viruses play a role in the development of synovial sarcoma?
AbstractBACKGROUND: To date, the pathomechanism of soft tissue sarcomas such as synovial sarcoma remains unclear whereas even a viral etiology was suspected. Aim of this study was to analyze whether EBV, HHV-8 or HPV play a role in the development of synovial sarcomas. FINDINGS: In total 41 synovial sarcomas were included in this retrospective study. For detection of EBV 1/2 and HHV-8, resection specimens were analyzed with regard to virus-specific sequences using a SingleStep PCR. HPV analysis was carried out by an HPV-specific multiplex-PCR and subsequent array-hybridization for HPV-typing. No virus-specific DNA of EBV, HHV-8 or HPV was detected. CONCLUSION: An involvement of these viruses in the etiology of synovial sarcoma was not detected but further studies are needed with different virus types and sarcoma entities.
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.
