DeCure for Bladder Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma
DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Bladder Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 47-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleBladder Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma maps to a 47-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 bladder small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma 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
Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) — BTK 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 7h-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6VXQ · 1.4 Å · ligand N-{[4-(7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)phenyl]methyl}benzamide (RQS). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Pure primary small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder accounts for 0.3–0.7% of all bladder tumours, and in 68% of cases the small cell component is mixed with classic urothelial or adenocarcinoma, making the pure form even rarer. A retrospective review of 16 cases of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the urinary tract (10 from bladder, 2 from ureter, 3 from renal pelvis, 1 multifocal) found a median age of 63 years, equal sex distribution, and gross haematuria as the main symptom in 11 patients. Tumour size ranged from 0.8 to 8.0 cm (median 4.5 cm). At presentation 1 patient was stage pT1, 7 were pT2, 6 were pT3, and 2 were pT4. Six patients died of disease after operation. Overall survival was 25 months and the 5-year survival rate was 32.4%. The authors concluded that the disease is highly malignant and that early diagnosis with cystectomy or nephroureterectomy plus adjuvant chemotherapy is the mainstay of management.
Later case reports reiterate that small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder is a rare, aggressive tumour with poor prognosis, often presenting at a later stage than urothelial carcinoma. Treatment algorithms cited include cystectomy, partial cystectomy, radiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, chemotherapy alone, and neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. One 2020 case report describes a patient diagnosed after transurethral resection, then given six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy while awaiting radical cystectomy. Another 2020 review notes that for localised disease, recent literature shows equivalent survival data for chemoradiotherapy combined with either bladder-sparing surgery or radical cystectomy.
No drug is named in any of these abstracts, and no repurposing candidate is discussed. The evidence consists entirely of small retrospective series and single-case reports. What is missing is any prospective trial, any biomarker or molecular stratification that might identify which patients benefit from which regimen, and any funding for a dedicated study of this rare tumour.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Urology Annals · 2013 · 6 citations · open access
Pure primary small cell carcinoma of urinary bladder: A rare diagnostic entity
AbstractSmall cell carcinoma of the bladder is a rare, aggressive, poorly differentiated neuroendocrine neoplasm accounting for only 0.3-0.7% of all bladder tumors. Since the tumor is very rare, pathogenesis is uncertain. Small cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder are mixed with classic urothelial carcinomas or adenocarcinomas of the bladder in 68% cases, making pure primary small cell carcinoma even a rarer entity. The unknown etiology and natural history of small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder represent a challenge both to the pathologist and urologists for its diagnosis and treatment, respectively.
[Clinical and pathologic characteristics of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of urinary tract].
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To study the clinical and pathologic characteristics of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of urinary tract. METHODS: All cases of urinary tract carcinoma encountered in the General Hospital of People Liberation Army during the period from 1999 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. The clinicopathologic data of small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas were further analyzed, with literature review. RESULTS: A total of 16 cases of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma were identified, including 10 from urinary bladder, 2 from ureter, 3 from renal pelvis, and 1 multifocal tumor involving renal pelvis and ureter. There were altogether 8 males and 8 females. The median age of the patients was 63 years (range = 24 to 79 years). Gross hematuria (11 cases) represented the main presenting symptom. Four patients had flank pain and 4 had urinary irritation symptoms. Seven patients underwent radical cystectomy. Six other patients underwent radical nephroureterectomy, 1 partial cystectomy, 1 TURBT and the remaining case biopsy only. The size of the tumor ranged from 0.8 to 8.0 cm (median = 4.5 cm). Histologically, 15 cases represented mixed small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (with 13 mixed with transitional cell carcinoma and 2 with adenocarcinoma). Immunohistochemical study showed positive staining for neuroendocrine markers. On presentation, 1 patient was in stage pT1, 7 in stage pT2, 6 in stage pT3, 2 in stage pT4. Six patients died of the disease after operation. The overall survival was 25 months and the 5-year survival rate was 32.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of urinary bladder is a highly malignant disease and associated with poor prognosis. The diagnosis relies on detailed histologic examination. Early diagnosis, when coupled with cystectomy or nephroureterectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy, represents the mainstay of management.
Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology · 2020 · 1 citations · open access
A rare case of small cell neuroendocrine tumor of the urinary bladder
AbstractSmall cell neuroendocrine tumor of the bladder is a rare tumor characterized by poor differentiation and high aggressiveness. Very few cases worldwide have been reported till date. Recent literature shows equivalent survival data for localized disease treated with chemoradiotherapy combined with either bladder sparing surgery or radical cystectomy. We report a case of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder diagnosed after transurethral resection of bladder tumor, then followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for six cycles and awaiting radical cystectomy.
Bangladesh Journal of Urology · 2020 · 0 citations · open access
Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of Urinary Bladder: Extremely a Rare Entity
AbstractNeuroendocrine carcinoma or small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the bladder is a rare and aggressive tumor associated with a poor prognosis. It often presents at a later stage than urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, and comprises less than 1% of bladder malignancies. A number of treatment algorithms have been used to treat bladder SCC, including cystectomy, partial cystectomy, radiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, chemotherapy alone, and neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy. Here we are presenting a case of, small cell variety of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder, and its epidemiology, prognosis, and current treatment algorithms are reviewed. Bangladesh Journal of Urology, Vol. 22, No. 2, July 2019 p.166-169
INDIGO (University of Illinois at Chicago) · 2022 · 0 citations · open access
Supplementary Material for: A Case of Bladder Large Cell Carcinoma with Review of the Literature
AbstractNeuroendocrine (NE) tumors of the bladder are infrequent. Among them, large cell NE tumor has been outlined only in case reports and short case series, which describes them as aggressive malignancies with dismal prognosis requiring a multidisciplinary approach. The case of an 82-year-old patient with muscle-invasive large cell NE carcinoma of the bladder associated with urothelial carcinoma in situ is presented. Despite combined treatment modality, relapse with metastatic disease was detected 12.5 months after the initial diagnosis. Thereafter, we review several published cases, and results of the collected data are compared with the largest studies published on this topic.
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.
