DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Cervical Small Cell Carcinoma — 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 Small Cell Carcinoma 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 small cell 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
endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) — EPAS1 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 furan-2-ylmethyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3H82 · 1.5 Å · ligand N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline (020). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
The 2024 case report describes a 47-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer who presented with abnormal vaginal bleeding and was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the cervix. She underwent radical hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, followed by adjuvant chemoradiation. The authors state that small cell carcinoma of the cervix is an aggressive form with poor prognosis and that optimal treatment remains unsettled. No survival data, response rates, or sample sizes beyond this single patient are provided.
A 2013 in vitro study examined the combination of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy with low-dose cisplatin in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer cell line. The combination treatment decreased cell viability compared to either agent alone and increased apoptosis. The authors report that this synergistic anticancer activity was related to upregulation of p53 and altered expression of p21, Bcl-2, and Bax. This work was performed only in cell culture and does not address small cell carcinoma specifically.
A 2017 proteomic analysis compared a normal cervical cell line (HCK1T) with three cancer lines: one HPV-negative (C33A) and two HPV-positive (SiHa and HeLa). The study identified 113 differentially expressed proteins and found the actin cytoskeleton signalling pathway significantly affected, with upregulation of cofilin-1 confirmed by western blotting. No therapeutic interventions were tested.
A 2021 review article on cervical cancer oncobiology notes that many issues of etiopathogenesis remain insufficiently studied and that the role of many biomarkers in cervical carcinogenesis remains unclear. It does not provide original data on small cell carcinoma or any specific treatment.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2021 · 146 citations · open access
Cervical Carcinoma: Oncobiology and Biomarkers
AbstractCervical cancer is one of the most common types of carcinomas causing morbidity and mortality in women in all countries of the world. At the moment, the oncology, oncobiology, and oncomorphology of cervical cancer are characterized by the accumulation of new information; various molecular biological, genetic, and immunohistochemical methods of investigation of the mechanisms of cervical carcinogenesis are tested and applied; targeted antitumour drugs and diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers are being searched for. Many issues of the etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer have not been sufficiently studied, and the role of many biomarkers characterizing various stages of cervical carcinogenesis remains unclear. Therefore, the target of this review is to systematize and understand several problems in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer and to evaluate the significance and role of biomarkers in cervical carcinogenesis.
Cancer Genomics & Proteomics · 2017 · 46 citations · open access
Proteomic Analysis of Normal and Cancer Cervical Cell Lines Reveals Deregulation of Cytoskeleton-associated Proteins
AbstractBACKGROUND: Both HPV-positive and -negative cervical cancers are primarily associated with features of cell cycle and cytoskeletal disruption; however, the actual biological processes affected remain elusive. To this end, we systematically characterized the intracellular proteomic profiles of four distinct and informative cervical cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell extracts from a normal cervical (HCK1T) and three cervical cancer cell lines, one HPV-negative (C33A), and two HPV-positive, SiHa (HPV16+) and HeLa (HPV18+), were analyzed by 2-dimensional electrophoresis and differentially expressed proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, while differential expression was confirmed by western blot analysis. RESULTS: In total, 113 proteins were found differentially expressed between the normal and the cervical cancer lines. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the actin cytoskeleton signaling pathway to be significantly affected, while up-regulation of cofilin-1, an actin depolymerizing factor, was documented and further validated by western blotting. Furthermore, two-way comparisons among the four cell lines, revealed a set of 18 informative differentially expressed proteins. CONCLUSION: These novel identified proteins provide the impetus for further functional studies to dissect the mechanisms operating in the two distinct pathways of cervical carcinogenesis.
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention · 2013 · 30 citations · open access
Synergistic Anticancer Activity of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy in Combination with Low-dose Cisplatin on Hela Cells
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Photodynamic therapy (PDT ) is a promising modality for the treatment of various tumors. In order to assist in optimizing treatment, we applied 5-ALA/PDT in combination with low-dose cisplatin to evaluate cytotoxicity in Hela cells. METHODS: Antiproliferative effects of 5-ALA/PDT and cisplatin, alone and in combination, were assessed using MTT assay. To examine levels of apoptosis, Hela cells treated with 5-ALA/PDT, and combination treatment were assessed with Annexin-V/PI by flow cytometry. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying alterations in cell proliferation and apoptosis, Western blot analysis was conducted to determine the expression of p53, p21, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins. RESULTS: MTT assays indicated that combination treatment obviously decreased the viability of Hela cells compared to individual drug treatment. In addition, it was confirmed that exposure of Hela cells to 5-ALA/PDT in combination with low-dose cisplatin resulted in more apoptosis in vitro. Synergistic anticancer activity was related to upregulation p53 expression and alteration in expression of p21, Bcl-2 and Bax. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that administration of 5-ALA/PDT in combination with the low-dose cisplatin may be an effective and feasible therapy for cervical cancer.
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine · 1995 · 3 citations
Radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer: the effect of shorter length of stay on outcome
AbstractBACKGROUND: The surgical treatment for limited cervical cancer (radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection) has remained essentially the same for 40 years, but economic pressures have resulted in shorter length of hospital stay, and precautions against infectious diseases have resulted in less use of blood products. PURPOSE: To determine if recent changes in hospital practices have affected outcomes, and if obese patients are at greater risk of complications. METHODS: Retrospective review of 100 surgical cases grouped by time period (1981 through 1987 and 1988 through 1993) and by patient weight (< 80 kg and > or = 80 kg). RESULTS: Comparing the two time periods, the mean operative time remained the same (199 minutes), but use of blood products declined (mean 2.1 vs 1.5 units; P < .01), as did the mean length of hospital stay (10.6 vs 7.4 days, P < .01). The rate of postoperative complications decreased significantly (P < .01), and the 5-year survival rate remained 91%. Obese patients received more blood transfusions than did nonobese patients (2.6 vs 1.6 units; P = .02), but their mean operative time and hospital stay did not significantly differ. The rate of postoperative and long-term complications did not differ significantly between the two weight groups. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of limited cervical carcinoma continues to be safe and effective.
Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2021 · 1 citations
A case of cervical clear cell carcinoma with serous component
AbstractCervical clear cell carcinoma (CCCC) is rare. This report describes the case of CCCC with a serous component. A 22-year-old woman presented with vaginal bleeding. A cervical tumor was discovered: pelvic magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor measuring 46 mm. Radical hysterectomy was performed based on the diagnosis of stage IB2 cervical cancer. After histological examination of the specimen revealed a coexisting invasive clear cell carcinoma (95%) and serous carcinoma (5%), five cycles of nedaplatin and irinotecan therapy were administered as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Local recurrence in the vaginal vault was observed at 7 months after surgery. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy were administered. The patient is alive without evidence of recurrence at 26 months after surgery.
Small cell carcinoma of uterine cervix: A case report.
AbstractBackground: Small cell carcinoma of cervix (SCCC) is a rare disease. SCCC is highly invasive and prone to distant metastatic spread and lymph node involvement. Here we aim to present a patient and her treatment. Case Presentation: We report 47-year-old patient with history of breast cancer manifesting with abnormal vaginal bleeding diagnosed with SCCC. Patient underwent radical hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Then, she received adjuvant chemoradiation postoperatively. Conclusion: Small cell carcinoma of cervix is an aggressive form of cervical cancer with poor prognosis. Optimal treatment remains unsettled.
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.
