DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cerebellar astrocytoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 1-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleCerebellar astrocytoma maps to a 1-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 cerebellar astrocytoma 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
tumor protein p53 (TP53) — TP53 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 apo structuredrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 9R2Q · 3.2 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Cerebellar astrocytoma in childhood is primarily a surgical disease. A 1956 series of 34 children treated at Children’s Medical Center in Boston reported no operative mortality and a case mortality of 5.8 per cent; 24 of the 34 patients were leading normal lives with no abnormality on neurological examination, while six had moderate and two had severe residual ataxia and cranial nerve disturbances. The authors estimated the cure rate should be about 90 per cent, with significant neurological disturbance persisting in no more than 15 to 20 per cent of patients. A 2014 study of 18 adolescents and 46 adults treated for low-grade cerebellar astrocytoma in childhood found a mean time lapse from surgery of 7.8 years for adolescents and 12.9 years for adults; five adults (11 per cent) had major sequelae related to post-operative complications, post-operative mutism or brain stem involvement, while all other participants showed close-to-normal academic achievement and normal autonomy despite a high rate of reported cognitive difficulties and mild neurological sequelae affecting fine motor skills and balance.
Complete surgical resection carries a very low risk of recurrence. A 2016 evaluation of 49 patients treated between 1988 and 2007 at a regional paediatric neuro-oncology centre found that 37 patients underwent complete resection, none of whom relapsed. The centre subsequently shortened post-surgical MRI surveillance from five years to 2.5 years (scans at 6, 18 and 30 months). After this change, a further 15 patients underwent complete surgical resection for WHO grade 1 pilocytic astrocytoma; one of these 15 relapsed 11 months post surgery, with a median follow-up of 4.08 years. No patient relapsed beyond the shortened surveillance interval, supporting a change in practice to reduce the duration of post-operative imaging.
Malignant transformation is rare but documented. A 1990 case report describes a patient who had a well-differentiated cerebellar astrocytoma resected at 4 years of age and developed glioblastoma multiforme of the cerebellum after a symptom-free interval of 28 years. The authors note that cerebellar astrocytomas are typically among the most benign of primary brain malignancies with excellent long-term survival rates, sometimes even with incomplete resection, but that follow-up needs to be long-term because biologic behaviour cannot be fully predicted in all cases.
What is still missing is prospective data on the optimal duration of imaging surveillance after complete resection, particularly for the small subset of patients who relapse beyond the first few years. There are no randomised trials comparing surveillance schedules, and no validated biomarkers to identify the rare cases of late malignant transformation. Patient stratification remains limited to histology and extent of resection, with no molecular or genetic criteria to guide follow-up intensity.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Brain Injury · 2014 · 39 citations
Long-term functional outcome of patients with cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma surgically treated in childhood
AbstractUNLABELLED: Abstract Purpose: A number of studies report neurological and cognitive deficits and behavioural disorders in children after surgical treatment for a benign cerebellar tumour. The present study explores functional outcome in adolescents and adults treated for a low-grade cerebellar astrocytoma in childhood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were 18 adolescents and 46 adults treated for low-grade astrocytoma in childhood. Academic achievement, professional status and neurological, cognitive and behavioural disturbances were collected using self-completed and parental questionnaires for adolescents and phone interview for adults. For the adolescent group, a control group filled in the same questionnaires. RESULTS: Mean time lapse from surgery was 7.8 years for adolescents and 12.9 years for adults. Five adults (11%) had major sequelae related to post-operative complications, post-operative mutism and/or brain stem involvement. All the other participants presented close-to-normal academic achievement and normal autonomy, despite a high rate of reported cognitive difficulties and difficulties related to mild neurological sequelae (fine motor skills, balance). CONCLUSION: The long-term functional outcome of low-grade cerebellar astrocytoma is generally favourable, in the absence of post-operative complications and brain stem involvement. No major impact of neurological deficits, cognitive problems and emotional disorders on academic achievement and independent functioning was observed.
AbstractThirty-four children with cerebellar astrocytoma have been treated at Children's Medical Center in Boston during the last 7 years. There was no operative mortality. The case mortality to date is 5.8 per cent. Thirty-two of the thirty-four children are alive and free of increased intracranial pressure. Six have moderate and 2 have severe [See FIG. 8. in Source Pdf] neurological disturbance in the form of residual ataxia and cranial nerve disturbances. The other 24 patients are leading normal lives, and show no abnormality on neurological examination. The importance and desirability of early recognition and complete one-stage surgical removal of cerebellar astrocytomas, which represent 20 per cent of all intracranial tumors of childhood, is emphasized by the high rate of cure which can be achieved. It is estimated that the rate of cure for this intracranial tumor should be about 90 per cent. Significant neurological disturbance should probably not persist in more than 15 to 20 per cent of these patients.
Malignant transformation of benign cerebellar astrocytoma
AbstractA patient who had a well-differentiated cerebellar astrocytoma resected at 4 years of age, had glioblastoma multiforme of the cerebellum after a symptom-free interval of 28 years. Late malignant transformation of a cerebellar astrocytoma of childhood is rare and previous cases are reviewed. Cerebellar astrocytomas are typically among the most benign of primary brain malignancies with excellent long-term survival rates, sometimes with incomplete resection. This patient indicates that follow-up needs to be long-term because biologic behavior cannot be predicted fully in all cases.
LG-42CEREBELLAR ASTROCYTOMA IN A REGIONAL NEURO-ONCOLOGY CENTRE; EVALUATING THE NEED FOR POST-SURGICAL IMAGING SURVEILLANCE
AbstractBACKGROUND: Cerebellar astrocytomas constitute around 15% of childhood CNS neoplasms. Surgery, with the aim of complete resection, is the principal treatment modality, although need for and duration of post-surgical MRI surveillance is not well defined. In this respect, we conducted an evaluation of the outcome of cerebellar astrocytomas at our regional paediatric neuro-oncology centre. METHODS: Our tumour database was interrogated to identify all cases of cerebellar astrocytoma. Variables included patient age, gender, completeness of resection, duration of follow-up, and remission status. RESULTS: Between 1988 and 2007, 49 patients with cerebellar astrocytoma were reviewed - 43 pilocytic astrocytomas, 4 fibrillary astrocytomas, 1 ganglioglioma and 1 unspecified low-grade tumour. Thirty-seven patients underwent complete resection (CR), none of whom relapsed. We thus changed the duration of MRI surveillance from 5 years to 2.5 years (scans at 6, 18 and 30 months post surgery) in those patients who had undergone CR. Since this change in practise, a further 15 patients have undergone complete surgical resection for WHO grade 1 pilocytic astrocytoma. One of these 15 patients relapsed 11 months post surgery (median follow-up - 4.08 years). CONCLUSION: Since reducing the length of MRI imaging surveillance from 5 to 2.5 years, no patient has relapsed beyond the surveillance screening interval. This supports a change in practice to shorten the duration of post-operative imaging. This has resulted in a time and cost saving to families and health service.
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.
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