DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cervical cancer — screening already-approved drugs against its 44-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleCervical cancer maps to a 44-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 cervical cancer 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
dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) — DHFR 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 ndpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4M6J · 1.201 Å · ligand NADPH DIHYDRO-NICOTINAMIDE-ADENINE-DINUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHATE (NDP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Cervical cancer remains the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with rates declining in the United States due to vaccination and screening but still far from eradicated even in developed nations. A 2019 review discusses recent developments in staging, surgical management, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted agents including immunotherapy, and imaging. A 2023 review states that immunologic checkpoint inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates have demonstrable activity in cervical cancer, particularly in first-line and second-line treatment for recurrence, and that the tolerability and durable responses of these novel medicines underscore regulatory approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and their implementation in clinic. A 2025 literature review notes significant progress in molecular-targeted therapies and gene editing technologies aimed at individual treatment depending on the genetic characteristics of the tumour.
A 2019 retrospective analysis at University Hospital Cologne compared minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) with open surgery (laparotomy) in 75 patients with stages IA1 to IIB cervical carcinoma treated with curative intent between 2011 and 2017. 34 patients underwent minimally invasive surgery and 41 underwent open surgery; neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given to 10 patients in the minimally invasive group and 14 in the laparotomy group. No significant difference in overall survival was observed between the two groups. Disease-free survival showed a significant difference in favour of the minimally invasive group. The authors conclude that minimally invasive surgical therapy improves disease-free survival but state that prospective trials are needed to further confirm these results.
A 2019 study developed a nine-long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) signature from online expression data of cervical cancer patients, using LASSO Cox regression with 10-fold cross validation. The signature showed higher predictive accuracy for recurrence than FIGO stage in training, validation, and test sets. Stratified analysis demonstrated that the nine-lncRNA signature could predict recurrence within FIGO stage. The authors present this as a reliable prognostic tool to facilitate individual management after treatment, but the work is based on bioinformatics analysis of existing datasets, not a prospective clinical trial.
What is still missing are prospective randomised trials comparing minimally invasive and open surgery with modern standardised protocols, validation of the nine-lncRNA signature in a prospective patient cohort, and data on which specific immunologic checkpoint inhibitors or antibody-drug conjugates produce what response rates and survival durations in defined patient subgroups. The cost and infrastructure required for molecular-targeted therapies and gene editing in resource-poor communities, where cervical cancer disproportionately affects patients, remain unaddressed.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
AbstractAlthough rates of cervical cancer in the United States have been declining due to vaccination and screening efforts, it remains the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and is still far from being eradicated, even in developed nations. This review discusses recent developments in cervical cancer treatment and reviews the literature supporting recent practice changes encompassing staging, surgical management, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted agents including immunotherapy, and imaging.
Frontiers in Genetics · 2019 · 53 citations · open access
Prediction of Recurrence in Cervical Cancer Using a Nine-lncRNA Signature
AbstractBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: As a common cancer type in women, cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-associated mortalities word wide. Recent evidence has demonstrated the regulatory role of a large number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cervical cancer. Here, we aimed to identify new biomarkers that related with the recurrence through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: Firstly, we collected online lncRNA expression data of cervical cancer patients which were divided into training, validation, and test set. Then we developed a nine-lncRNA signature from training set by conducting LASSO Cox regression model along with 10-fold cross validation. The prognostic value of this risk score was validated in all the three sets using Kaplan-Meier analysis, C-index, time-dependent ROC curves and dynamic AUC. Biological function of these lncRNAs in cervical cancer cells were evaluated by performing gene ontology biological process enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes signaling pathways analysis. RESULTS: According to the results, a higher predict accuracy was observed in the nine-lncRNA signature than that of FIGO stage in all the three sets. Stratified analysis also demonstrated that the nine-lncRNA signature can predict the recurrence of cervical cancer within FIGO stage. The potential mechanisms underlying the nine-lncRNAs from the signature were also identified according to the gene enrichment analysis. CONCLUSION: In the present article, we provided a reliable prognostic tool to facilitate the individual management of patients with cervical cancer after treatment.
Journal of Gynecologic Oncology · 2023 · 19 citations · open access
Recent breakthroughs in the management of locally advanced and recurrent/metastatic cervical cancer
AbstractCervical cancer continues to be a global threat affecting individuals in resource poor communities disproportionately. The treatment paradigm for this disease is ever evolving with recent innovations propelling oncologic outcomes to a new frontier offering survival benefits for patients struggling with locally advanced disease and metastatic/recurrent carcinoma. Immunologic checkpoint inhibitors and anti-body drug conjugates represent two novel drug classes that have demonstrable activity in this disease, particularly in the first-line and second-line treatment paradigm for recurrence. The tolerability of these novel medicines and associated durable responses underscore regulatory approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations and their implementation in clinic.
BRM270 Suppresses Cervical Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics and Progression by Inhibiting SOX2
AbstractBackground/Aim: Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide. BRM270 (BRMLife) has therapeutic potential for cancer treatment owing to its ability to inhibit cell proliferation, and expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 133 in CD133<sup>+</sup> cancer cells. This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of plant extract formulation BRM270 against cervical cancer progression. Materials and Methods: The expression of sex-determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) was tested in four different cervical cancer cell lines, HeLA, SiHa, Caski and C33A. SOX2-expressing SiHa and C33A cell lines were selected for further experiments on the in vitro and in vivo effects of BRM270 on cervical cancer progression using western blotting, flow cytometry, sphere-formation assay, magnetic-activated cell sorting of CD133<sup>+</sup> cervical cancer cells, and xenografts in female athymic BALB/c nude mice. Results: In the present study, in cervical cancer stem cells (CSCs), we found that BRM270 inhibited expression of SOX2, which is associated with cervical cancer initiation and metastasis. BRM270 also inhibited CD133 expression and induced apoptosis of CSCs and suppressed CD133<sup>+</sup> CSC proliferation and sphere formation in vitro as well as SiHa and C33A cell xenograft tumor growth in vivo. This was accompanied by down-regulation of markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Conclusion: BRM270 might be an effective agent for cervical cancer treatment.
Anticancer Research · 2019 · 16 citations · open access
Comparison of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Abdominal Surgery Among Patients With Cervical Cancer
AbstractBACKGROUND/AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference in clinical outcomes in patients with histologically confirmed cervical cancer of the uterus treated with either laparoscopy or laparotomy with curative intent between 2011 and 2017 at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of University Hospital Cologne. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis included all patients who received surgical treatment with curative intent between January 2011 and December 2017 for stages IA1 to IIB cervical carcinoma. Patients receiving primary or secondary surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were also included. RESULTS: In total, 75 patients were included, of whom 34 patients underwent minimally invasive surgery and 41 underwent open surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was performed in 10 patients in the minimally-invasive group and in 14 patients in the laparotomy group. Statistically, no significant difference in overall survival (OS) was observed in both groups. Disease-free survival showed a significant difference in favor of the minimally invasive group. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive surgical therapy for cervical cancer improves disease-free-survival. Prospective trials are needed to further confirm these results.
AbstractCervical cancer is a public health burden to Low and Middle Income countries. Whereas strides are being made in the management of malignancies worldwide, resources limited settings are confronted with the paucity of basic awareness, health professionals, diagnosis and management modalities, all contributing to cervical cancer disease late presentation. Among available treatment modalities, the mainstay of treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer remains radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. Radiation is delivered through external radiation and brachytherapy. The evidence leading to the decision making, the modern management modalities and the general side effects, will be reviewed here.
Russian Bulletin of Obstetrician-Gynecologist · 2025 · 0 citations
Modern treatment of patients with cervical cancer
AbstractThe literature review discusses current treatment methods for patients with cervical cancer. This disease is one of the most common types of oncological diseases among women. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease, the presence of metastases, and a number of other factors. Various methods of modern therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy are presented, as well as prospects for using combined methods to achieve high treatment results. Attention is paid to significant progress in the development of molecular-targeted therapies (gene editing technologies) aimed at individual treatment depending on the genetic characteristics of the tumor.
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.
